UNESCO to vote on Palestinian membership

UNESCO to vote on Palestinian membership

The UN cultural agency has said it would decide later on Monday whether to give the Palestinians full membership of the body, a vote that could boost their bid for recognition as a state at the UN.

Since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the UN on Sept. 23, UNESCO is the first UN agency the Palestinians have sought to join as a full member.

Veto

Meanwhile, the U.S. has said it would veto full UN membership for the Palestinians.
Reports say the U.S and Israel are the leading opponents of the Palestinian bid for membership of UNESCO and other UN bodies.

But with backing from two thirds of its 193 members, the Palestinians can join UNESCO regardless of their broader status at the UN, where they are now classified as ‘an observer entity’.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said on Sunday he expected to get the required support.

UNESCO said the vote at a general conference in Paris was expected in the middle of the day but could take some time.

Earlier this month, forty representatives of the 58-member board voted in favour of putting the matter to a vote with four – the U.S., Germany, Romania and Latvia voting against and 14 abstaining.

Admission would be seen by the Palestinians as a moral victory in their bid for full UN membership but could be costly for UNESCO.

Reasons for Veto

Under U.S. law, the admission of Palestine as a full UNESCO member would trigger a cut-off in U.S. funding which accounts for 22 per cent of the agency's funding.

Also, Washington opposes the Palestinian bid for a full UN seat on the grounds it is unhelpful to efforts to revive peace talks with Israel, the last round of which broke down a year ago.

Israel has said the Palestinian bid would amount to politicisation of the agency that would undermine its ability to carry out its mandate.

NAN/ Adekusibe/Ekata