Culture shift: UNESCO must act on nations exiting, re-entering on frivolous grounds

Source: The post is based on the article “Culture shift: UNESCO must act on nations exiting, re-entering on frivolous grounds” published in The Hindu on 16th June 2023

Syllabus: GS 2 – Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Relevance: About the US rejoining UNESCO.

News: The United States has recently said that it will rejoin the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The US rejoining might bring in atleast $600 million in outstanding dues to UNESCO.

Note: The Reagan administration withdrew from UNESCO in 1984 citing various reasons including the “advancing Soviet interests”. 

About US withdrawal and reason for rejoining UNESCO

The Obama administration in the US ceased funding UNESCO in 2011. Later in 2017, the US withdrew from the organisation. This is due to “an anti-Israel bias” and it alleged UNESCO has some favourable towards Palestine.

The reason for the U.S’.s return is China. According to the US, the U.S.’s absence had helped China gain “more influence” in setting the rules around artificial intelligence and the ensuing technological shifts. Thereby China has gained significant developments in AI.

Why US is worried about Chinese advancement in AI?

Product patents and their enforcement have helped countries such as the U.S. to maintain their edge. But with AI, China made significant developments due to advantages like a much larger population and a more powerful surveillance state. This is visible from China’s increasing product patents and research publications.

About the US’s ‘America First’ policy decision on International forums

During the pandemic, in 2020, the U.S. withdrew from funding the World Health Organization. This is because of WHO’s ‘inadequate’ response time to the gravity of the pandemic originating in China. Later following political change, the US rejoined WHO.

Similarly, the US withdrew from the Paris Agreement and later rejoined after political change.

What should be done?

It is high time that countries such as India should point out a) to make stricter provisions for countries exiting and entering on frivolous grounds, and b) to frame policies and research that accommodate the political tussles in a hyper-connected world.