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UNESCO chief calls on U.S. to continue financial contribution

02 November 2011 22:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Chief of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday called on the United States to continue its financial support for the organization, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The withholding of U.S. dues and other financial contributions - required by U.S. law - will weaken UNESCOâ€™s effectiveness and undermine its ability to build free and open societies," UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said two days after the United States announced it would cut off its UNESCO funding in response to Palestineâ€™s admission.

The move would "immediately affect our ability to deliver programmes in critical areas: achieving universal education, supporting new democracies and fighting extremism," she warned in a statement.

"So I call on the U.S. administration, Congress and the American people to find a way forward and continue support for UNESCO in these turbulent times," she said.

After the Palestinian National Authority was accepted by UNESCO as its 195th member, the United State decided to stop its financial contributions to the agency starting from a sum of 60 million U.S. dollars due to be paid in November. The U.S. contribution accounts for 22 percent of UNESCOâ€™s annual budget, vital for the agency to continue functioning in various fields.

Israel, a firm ally of the United States and opponent of Palestine, said it would also stop financing the UN cultural agency with its share accounting for around 3 percent of the agencyâ€™s budget.