Congress cuts payments to United Nations

Congress Cuts Payments to UN: Will This Embarass the US Abroad?

Arab Spring Continues to Befuddle the US' Antiquated Foreign Policy Published on Yahoo.com: 11/25/2011 URL: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9089337/ congress_cuts_payments_to_un_will_this.html?cat=9 Last month the board of UNESCO admitted Palestine to their aid programs as a 'state'. This move will trigger a cut-off of more than $84 million in the US' annual contributions to the UN. It is also expected to trigger Israel to take actions in 'retaliation'. How will this affect US international relations and affairs? The Congressional mandate comes from a 1990 law, which prohibits the appropriation of funds "for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as a member state." This law was passed when the PLO was primarily a militia-run organization. But since then, it has become a political party, and is now a major seat holder in the Palestinian Authority's government assembly. PA president Mahmoud Abbas, his Fatah movement, most Palestinians, and the Arab League are the ones actually seeking this upgrade of the PA's status at the UN. They would prefer full member status, but even to get 'observer member' status would be an upgrade from their current non-status. If they are recognized as a state, it would probably mean that they have a right to bring cases before the International court. Israel is of course very opposed to this, as it would make them vulnerable to trials for war crimes, of which Israel has apparently committed, according to UN observers. The 'observer member' upgrade already has the support of most nations in the UN General Assembly, including several European states. The US would veto any recognition at the highest level- the UN Security Council, but recognition at lower levels, such as UNESCO, is not subject to the US' control.

UNESCO's director general, Irena Bokova, appealed to the United States not to punish her organization by withdrawing funds. She argued that UNESCO "supports many causes in line with U.S. security interests" from Afghanistan to Iraq, where "we are helping governments and communities prepare for life after the withdrawal of U.S. military forces." The issue of Palestinian membership should not be allowed to derail these initiatives, which go far beyond the politics of the Middle East. The Obama administration is seeking a way to mitigate any possible damage caused by the old laws, according to Peter Yeo, the executive director of the Better World Fund. If the conflict continues and becomes publicized, it would expose the United States and Israel as stubborn holdouts against the rest of the world's opinions in the conflict, and "finally extract a price for US shameless pandering to Israel," says Palestinian analyst Rashid Khalidi. — Claire Buxton Photo courtesy of UNESCO, from http://www.unesco.nl Caption: Afghani Children to lose UNESCO services because of USʟ objection to Palestinian statehood.

Some content drawn from http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/10/25/ will_congress_s_defunding_of_the_un_over_palestine_hurt_us_goals_around_the_worl d Some content came from http://www.thenation.com/article/163384/can-palestines-bidun-statehood-revive-national-movement?rel=emailNation