US, Israel lose UNESCO voting rights over Palestine

Neither the United States nor Israel presented the necessary documentation on Friday to avoid losing their rights to vote, AFP quoted an unnamed UNESCO official as saying.

On October 31, 2011, the UNESCO General Conference in Paris admitted Palestine as its 195th member state, with 107 votes in favor, 14 votes against, and 52 abstentions.

The decision came in defiance of mounting pressure from the US, Israel and their European allies, and prompted Tel Aviv and Washington to cut their contributions to the global cultural agency.

Under UNESCO rules, the US and Israel had until Friday to pay their dues or automatically lose voting rights.

US funding accounted for 22 percent of the agency’s overall budget.

The US-Israeli withdrawal of contributions reduced UNESCO’s budget from USD 653 million to USD 507 million, and put some 300 UNESCO workers in danger of losing their jobs.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has raised USD 75 million to deal with the financial crisis.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO, is responsible for selecting and overseeing World Heritage sites and deals with literacy, media freedom, science, and environmental issues.