US to withdraw from Unesco again

The US has announced its decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) over policy misalignment and concerns over the agency’s alleged anti-Israel stance.

“Today, the US informed Director-General Audrey Azoulay of the United States’ decision to withdraw from Unesco. Continued involvement in Unesco is not in the national interest of the US,” US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

The decision marks the third time the US has left the Paris-based organization. It is also the second such move under former President Donald Trump, who returned to office in 2025. The withdrawal will take effect on 31 December 2026. Until then, the US will remain a full member.

The State Department statement pointed to several reasons behind the decision, including Unesco’s focus on what it called “divisive social and cultural causes,” its emphasis on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the 2011 admission of Palestine as a member state.

“Unesco’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation,” the statement read. It added that the organisation’s agenda was not aligned with the US’s current foreign policy.

“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from Unesco — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly told the New York Post.

The decision had been anticipated within Unesco after a review ordered by the Trump administration earlier this year. The US had only rejoined Unesco in 2023, after a five-year absence initiated by the previous Trump administration in 2017. That earlier withdrawal was also linked to allegations of anti-Israel bias, and came after the agency admitted Palestine as a full member in 2011, which was a move that led both the US and Israel to halt funding to the organisation.

This is not the first time the US has distanced itself from Unesco. The Reagan administration withdrew from the agency in 1984, citing financial mismanagement and ideological concerns during the Cold War. The US returned in 2003 during President George W. Bush’s term, following what his administration considered key reforms.

Established in 1945, Unesco promotes international collaboration through education, science, culture, and communication.