U.S. wants to rejoin UNESCO
Why in news:
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) announced on Monday that the United States will rejoin it in July, four years after it left the agency (along with Israel).
- The move to rejoin will face a vote by UNESCO’s member states and is expected to pass easily.
About UNESCO:
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
- UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
- Its constitution establishes the agency’s goals, governing structure, and operating framework.
- UNESCO’s founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations.
- It pursues this objective through five major programme areas : education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information.
- It is aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.
- It has 193 member states and 12 associate members as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.
- UNESCO is governed by the General Conference, composed of member states and associate members, which meets biannually to set the agency’s programmes and the budget.
- UNESCO is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, a coalition of UN agencies and organisations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.
Syllabus : Prelims
