UNESCO Membership: Issues for Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Nov. 20, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL30985 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Lois B. McHugh, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
On October 1, 2003, the United States returned to full membership in UNESCO, the United
Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. President Bush had announced the U.S. return
a year earlier during his speech before the U.N. General Assembly. The Administration requested
$71.429 million for FY2004 for the U.S. return to UNESCO. This amount included funds for the
last 3-months of calendar year 2003, full funding for calendar year 2004, and a one-time payment
to the UNESCO Working Capital Fund of $5.5 million. The U.S. share of the UNESCO budget is
22% (the largest of any member country). U.S. contributions to UNESCO are provided by Congress
in the authorization and appropriation acts for the State Department in the Contributions to
International Organizations (CIO) account.
The United States was one of the original members of UNESCO, which was created in 1946,
and withdrew from the agency in 1984. The reasons given at the time of withdrawal were that the
agency was highly politicized, exhibited hostility toward the basic institutions of a free society,
especially a free market and a free press, and demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion and
poor management under then Director General Amadou-Mahter M'Bow of Senegal.
UNESCO has had two Director Generals since the U.S. withdrawal, but very little national
attention has been paid to the agency. In November 1995, President Clinton wrote to UNESCO
Director General Frederico Mayor of Spain that the United States recognized that UNESCO had
made major progress in addressing the issues that led to U.S. withdrawal, but that budget realities
precluded the United States from rejoining at the time. On January 16, 2001, President Clinton
urged the incoming Bush Administration to rejoin the organization. While rejoining is an executive
decision, the congressional role in authorizing and appropriating funds for U.S. dues gives Congress
an important role.
This report discusses briefly the actions taken since the U.S. withdrawal and provides
background on the debate over withdrawal in the 1983-84 period and issues involved in the recent
debate over rejoining. It will be updated as developments warrant.
