UNESCO has suspended the voting rights of the United States and
Israel, two years after both countries stopped paying dues to the U.N.’s
cultural arm in protest over its granting full membership to the
Palestinians.
The U.S. decision to cancel its funding in October 2011 was blamed on U.S. laws that prohibit funding to any U.N. agency that implies recognition of the Palestinians’ demands for their own state.
Israel also pulled its funding, objecting to what it called unilateral attempts by the Palestinians to gain recognition of statehood.
Both countries missed a 11:00 GMT Friday deadline to provide an official justification for non-payment and a plan to pay back missed dues, a UNESCO source told Reuters. That automatically triggered suspension of their voting rights.
Asked for his reaction, the U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, said Washington considers UNESCO a “critical partner in creating a better future.”
“We intend to continue our engagement with UNESCO in every possible way,” Killion said.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, is responsible for designating World Heritage sites, promoting global education and supporting press freedom, among other tasks.
UNESCO made no comment on the matter. The list of countries whose voting rights are suspended will be announced at a UNESCO meeting on Saturday, after which Director-General Irina Bokova is expected to issue a statement.
The body’s 15-day general conference, which unites member state representatives every two years, began on Tuesday in Paris.
The U.S. loss of voting rights comes as Washington tries to keep peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians afloat.
Both parties have signaled poor progress in the talks, which were revived in July after a three-year hiatus but recently became stymied over Israeli plans to continue building Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Israel that it could face a third Palestinian uprising if the talks fail.
The Palestinians have so far failed in their bid to become a full member of the United Nations, but their UNESCO membership is seen as a potential first step towards U.N. recognition of statehood.
The United States has characterized UNESCO’s move as a misguided attempt to bypass the two-decade old peace process.
Washington says only a resumption of peace talks ending in a treaty with Israel can result in Palestinian statehood.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/11/08/U-S-and-Israel-lose-UNESCO-voting-rights-UNESCO-source.html
8/11/13
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The U.S. decision to cancel its funding in October 2011 was blamed on U.S. laws that prohibit funding to any U.N. agency that implies recognition of the Palestinians’ demands for their own state.
Israel also pulled its funding, objecting to what it called unilateral attempts by the Palestinians to gain recognition of statehood.
Both countries missed a 11:00 GMT Friday deadline to provide an official justification for non-payment and a plan to pay back missed dues, a UNESCO source told Reuters. That automatically triggered suspension of their voting rights.
Asked for his reaction, the U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion, said Washington considers UNESCO a “critical partner in creating a better future.”
“We intend to continue our engagement with UNESCO in every possible way,” Killion said.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, is responsible for designating World Heritage sites, promoting global education and supporting press freedom, among other tasks.
Funding crisis
The withdrawal of U.S. funding - which totaled about $240 million, or some 22 percent of UNESCO’s budget - has plunged it into a funding crisis and forced it to cut programs.UNESCO made no comment on the matter. The list of countries whose voting rights are suspended will be announced at a UNESCO meeting on Saturday, after which Director-General Irina Bokova is expected to issue a statement.
The body’s 15-day general conference, which unites member state representatives every two years, began on Tuesday in Paris.
The U.S. loss of voting rights comes as Washington tries to keep peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians afloat.
Both parties have signaled poor progress in the talks, which were revived in July after a three-year hiatus but recently became stymied over Israeli plans to continue building Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Israel that it could face a third Palestinian uprising if the talks fail.
The Palestinians have so far failed in their bid to become a full member of the United Nations, but their UNESCO membership is seen as a potential first step towards U.N. recognition of statehood.
The United States has characterized UNESCO’s move as a misguided attempt to bypass the two-decade old peace process.
Washington says only a resumption of peace talks ending in a treaty with Israel can result in Palestinian statehood.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/11/08/U-S-and-Israel-lose-UNESCO-voting-rights-UNESCO-source.html
8/11/13
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Χωρίς ψήφο στην Unesco ΗΠΑ και Ισραήλ λόγω Παλαιστίνης...
ReplyDeleteΟι ΗΠΑ και το Ισραήλ απώλεσαν αυτόματα σήμερα το δικαίωμα ψήφου στην Unesco, δύο χρόνια αφότου σταμάτησαν να καταβάλλουν την οικονομική τους συνδρομή στον οργανισμό διαμαρτυρόμενες για την ένταξη της Παλαιστίνης σε αυτόν, δήλωσε μια πηγή του ΟΗΕ που θέλησε να διατηρήσει την ανωνυμία της.
«Στον κατάλογο των χωρών που χάνουν το δικαίωμα ψήφου περιλαμβάνονται οι ΗΠΑ και το Ισραήλ, ούτε η μία ούτε η άλλη χώρα παρουσίασαν τα απαραίτητα έγγραφα σήμερα το πρωί (οπότε έληγε η σχετική προθεσμία) για να αποφύγουν να χάσουν το δικαίωμα ψήφου», πρόσθεσε η ίδια πήγη.
Οι δύο χώρες έπαψαν να καταβάλλουν τη συνδρομή τους μετά την ένταξη της Παλαιστίνης στην Unesco στις 31 Οκτωβρίου 2011.
Η απόφαση των ΗΠΑ ελήφθη βάσει αμερικανικών νόμων που απαγορεύουν τη χρηματοδότηση οποιασδήποτε υπηρεσίας του ΟΗΕ υπαινίσσεται ότι αναγνωρίζει το αίτημα των Παλαιστινίων για δικό τους κράτος.
Το Ισραήλ επίσης έπαψε τη χρηματοδότηση αντιδρώντας στις μονομερείς, όπως τις αποκάλεσε, προσπάθειες των Παλαιστινίων να αναγνωρίσει η διεθνής κοινότητα ένα κράτος τους.
Η απόφαση των ΗΠΑ προκάλεσε μεγάλη οικονομική κρίση στην Unesco, η οποία αναγκάστηκε να αντιμετωπίσει μια μείωση 22% στον προϋπολογισμό της, από τα 653 εκατ. δολάρια στα 507 εκατομμύρια. Εξαιτίας των περικοπών στον προϋπολογισμό της υπηρεσίας περίπου 300 άνθρωποι κινδυνεύουν να χάσουν τη δουλειά τους. Στην Unesco εργάζονταν το 2012 1.200 άνθρωποι στην έδρα της στο Παρίσι και 900 ακόμη σε όλο τον κόσμο.
Η Unesco δεν έχει κάνει κανένα σχόλιο για το θέμα. Ο κατάλογος με τις χώρες που έχασαν το δικαίωμα ψήφου αναμένεται να ανακοινωθεί το Σάββατο.
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=397167
8/11/13