UNESCO

Jan. 2, 2019

The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel.

About:

Full name: UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Type of Body: It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
Objective:
- It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture.
- UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
Established in: It is the successor of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
Membership: As of January 2019, UNESCO has 193-member states and 11 associate members. The United States and Israel left UNESCO on 31 December 2018.
HQ:
Present Directors-General of UNESCO: Audrey Azoulay (France). She was appointed in 2017, thus becoming the second female leader of the organization.
UNESCO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.