And pay the overdue membership fees. After withdrawing from the group for 6 years, the United States plans to rejoin UNESCO in July
UNESCO announced on the 12th that the United States plans to rejoin the organization in July of this year.
According to the Associated Press, the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoule, informed representatives of member countries of the organization's decision to rejoin during the 39th Congress held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
According to reports, the US State Department has previously stated that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Vilma, who is responsible for management affairs, sent a letter to the Paris based UNESCO on June 8th, proposing "a plan for the United States to rejoin the organization" and paying over $600 million in outstanding dues.
The United States was once the largest sponsor of the organization, and the plan is expected to face a vote from its 193 member countries next month.
The United States is one of the founding members of UNESCO. In 1984, then US President Ronald Reagan announced his withdrawal from UNESCO citing poor management, corruption, and "favoritism" towards the Soviet Union. In 2003, the United States rejoined UNESCO. In October 2017, then US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from UNESCO, citing reasons such as the increasing arrears of US contributions and the organization's "anti Israel bias" and the need for fundamental reform.