Main menu

Search

 Create account
 Log in
Personal tools




Contents

hide


(Top)


History
Toggle History subsection

Activities


Media


Official UNESCO NGOs


 Institutes and centres


Prizes
Toggle Prizes subsection

International Days observed at UNESCO


Member states


Governing bodies
Toggle Governing bodies subsection

Offices and headquarters
Toggle Offices and headquarters subsection

Controversies
Toggle Controversies subsection

Products and services
Toggle Products and services subsection

See also


Notes


References


Further reading


External links

UNESCO
177 languages

 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Tools


 


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization

Flag of UNESCO

Abbreviation UNESCO

Formation 16 November 1945; 78 years ago

Type United Nations specialised agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Paris, France

Director-General Audrey Azoulay

Deputy Director-General Xing Qu

Parent organization United Nations Economic and Social

 Council

Website en.unesco.org

Politics portal

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

[a]
is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world
peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and
culture.[2][3] It has 194 member states and 12 associate members,[4] as well as partners in
the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.[5] Headquartered
in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices[6] and 199 national commissions.
[7][8]

UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International
Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.[9] Its constitution establishes the agency's goals,
governing structure, and operating framework.[10] UNESCO's founding mission, which
was shaped by the events of World War II, is to advance peace, sustainable
development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among
nations.[10] It pursues this objective through five major programme areas:
education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and
communication/information. UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy, provide
technical training and education, advance science, protect independent media
and press freedom, preserve regional and cultural history, and promote cultural
diversity.[11][12][13]
UNESCO's activities have broadened over the years. It assists in the translation and
dissemination of world literature, helps establish and secure World Heritage
Sites of cultural and natural importance, works to bridge the worldwide digital divide,
and creates inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.
[14]
UNESCO has launched several initiatives and global movements, such as Education
For All.
UNESCO is governed by the General Conference composed of member states and
associate members, which meets biannually to set the agency's programs and budget.
It also elects members of the executive board, which manages UNESCO's work, and
appoints every four years a Director-General, who serves as UNESCO's chief
administrator. UNESCO is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development
Group,[15] a coalition of UN agencies and organizations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable
Development Goals.
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League
of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, to elect a Commission to study the
feasibility of having nations freely share cultural, educational and scientific
achievements.[16][17] This new body, the International Committee on Intellectual
Cooperation (ICIC), was created in 1922[18] and counted such figures as Henri
Bergson, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Robert A. Millikan, and Gonzague de
Reynold among its members (being thus a small commission of the League of Nations
essentially centred on Western Europe[19]). The International Institute for Intellectual
Cooperation (IIIC) was then created in Paris in September 1924, to act as the executing
agency for the ICIC.[20] However, the onset of World War II largely interrupted the work
of these predecessor organizations.[21] As for private initiatives, the International Bureau
of Education (IBE) began to work as a non-governmental organization in the service of
international educational development since December 1925[22] and joined UNESCO in
1969, after having established a joint commission in 1952.[citation needed]
Creation[edit]
After the signing of the Atlantic Charter and the Declaration of the United Nations, the
Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME) began meetings in London which
continued from 16 November 1942 to 5 December 1945. On 30 October 1943, the
necessity for an international organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration,
agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR. This was
followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944. Upon the
proposal of CAME and in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations
Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), held in San Francisco from April to
June 1945, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and
cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London from 1 to 16 November
1945 with 44 governments represented. The idea of UNESCO was largely developed
by Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom, who had a great deal
of influence in its development.[23] At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was
introduced and signed by 37 countries, and a Preparatory Commission was
established.[24] The Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and
4 November 1946 — the date when UNESCO's Constitution came into force with the
deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state.[25]
The first General Conference took place from 19 November to 10 December 1946, and
elected Julian Huxley to Director-General.[26] United States Army colonel, university
president and civil rights advocate Blake R. Van Leer joined as a member as well.[27] The
Constitution was amended in November 1954 when the General Conference resolved
that members of the executive board would be representatives of the governments of
the States of which they are nationals and would not, as before, act in their personal
capacity.[28] This change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor,
the ICIC, in how member states would work together in the organization's fields of
competence. As member states worked together over time to realize UNESCO's
mandate, political and historical factors have shaped the organization's operations in
particular during the Cold War, the decolonization process, and the dissolution of the
Soviet Union.[29][30]
Development[edit]
Among the major achievements of the organization is its work against racism, for
example through influential statements on race starting with a declaration of
anthropologists (among them was Claude Lévi-Strauss) and other scientists in 1950
and concluding with the 1978 Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice.[citation needed]
In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO saying that some of the
organization's publications amounted to "interference" in the country's "racial problems".
[citation needed]
It rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.[31][32]
UNESCO's early work in the field of education included a pilot project on fundamental
education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, that started in 1947. This project was followed by
expert missions to other countries, including, for example, a mission to Afghanistan in
1949.[citation needed] In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free
primary education compulsory and universal.[citation needed] In 1990, the World Conference on
Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic
education for all children, youths and adults.[citation needed] Ten years later, the 2000 World
Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, led member governments to commit to
achieving basic education for all by 2015.[citation needed]
The World Declaration on Higher Education was adopted by UNESCO's World
Conference on Higher Education on 9 October 1998,[33] with the aim of setting global
standards on the ideals and accessibility of higher education.
UNESCO's early activities in culture included the International Campaign to Save the
Monuments of Nubia, launched in 1960.[citation needed] The purpose of the campaign was to
move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after
the construction of the Aswan Dam. During the 20-year campaign, 22 monuments and
architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of
campaigns including Mohenjo-
daro (Pakistan), Fes (Morocco), Kathmandu (Nepal), Borobudur (Indonesia) and
the Acropolis of Athens (Greece).[34] The organization's work on heritage led to the
adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural
and Natural Heritage.[citation needed] The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976
and the first sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978.[citation needed] Since then
important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by
UNESCO member states in 2003 (Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage[citation needed]) and 2005 (Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions[citation needed]).
An intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951 led to the
creation of the European Council for Nuclear Research, which was responsible for
establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)[citation needed] later on,
in 1954.[35]
Arid Zone programming, 1948–1966, is another example of an early major UNESCO
project in the field of natural sciences.[citation needed]
In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference aimed at
reconciling the environment and development, a problem that continues to be
addressed in the field of sustainable development. The main outcome of the 1968
conference was the creation of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme.[36]
UNESCO has been credited with the diffusion of national science bureaucracies.[37]
In the field of communication, the "free flow of ideas by word and image" has been in
UNESCO's constitution from its beginnings, following the experience of the Second
World War when control of information was a factor in indoctrinating populations for
aggression.[citation needed] In the years immediately following World War II, efforts were
concentrated on reconstruction and on the identification of needs for means of mass
communication around the world. UNESCO started organizing training and education
for journalists in the 1950s.[citation needed] In response to calls for a "New World Information
and Communication Order" in the late 1970s, UNESCO established the International
Commission for the Study of Communication Problems,[citation needed] which produced the
1980 MacBride report (named after the chair of the commission, the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Seán MacBride).[citation needed] The same year, UNESCO created the International
Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), a multilateral forum
designed to promote media development in developing countries.[citation needed] In 1991,
UNESCO's General Conference endorsed the Windhoek Declaration on media
independence and pluralism, which led the UN General Assembly to declare the date of
its adoption, 3 May, as World Press Freedom Day.[citation needed] Since 1997, UNESCO has
awarded the UNESCO / Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize every 3 May.[citation
needed]

21st century[edit]
UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member in 2011.[38][39]
Laws passed in the United States after Palestine applied for UNESCO
and WHO membership in April 1989[40][41] mean that the US cannot contribute financially
to any UN organization that accepts Palestine as a full member.[42][43] As a result, the US
withdrew its funding, which had accounted for about 22% of UNESCO's budget.[44] Israel
also reacted to Palestine's admittance to UNESCO by freezing Israeli payments to
UNESCO and imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority,[45] stating that Palestine's
admittance would be detrimental "to potential peace talks".[46] Two years after they
stopped paying their dues to UNESCO, the US and Israel lost UNESCO voting rights in
2013 without losing the right to be elected; thus, the US was elected as a member of
the executive board for the period 2016–19.[47] In 2019, Israel left UNESCO after 69
years of membership, with Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon writing:
"UNESCO is the body that continually rewrites history, including by erasing the Jewish
connection to Jerusalem... it is corrupted and manipulated by Israel's enemies... we are
not going to be a member of an organisation that deliberately acts against us".[48]
2023 saw Russia excluded from the executive committee for the first time, after failing
to get sufficient votes.[49]
Activities[edit]

UNESCO offices in Brasília

UNESCO implements its activities through the five programme areas: education,
natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and
information.[citation needed]

 UNESCO supports research in comparative education, provides expertise and

fosters partnerships to strengthen national educational leadership and the capacity
of countries to offer quality education for all. This includes the
o UNESCO Chairs, an international network of 644 UNESCO Chairs,
involving over 770 institutions in 126 countries
o Environmental Conservation Organisation
o Convention against Discrimination in Education adopted in 1960
o Organization of the International Conference on Adult Education
(CONFINTEA) in an interval of 12 years
o Publication of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report
o Publication of the Four Pillars of Learning seminal document
o UNESCO ASPNet, an international network of more than 12,000 schools
in 182 countries
UNESCO does not accredit institutions of higher learning.[50]

 UNESCO also issues public statements to educate the public:

o Seville Statement on Violence: A statement adopted by UNESCO in
1989 to refute the notion that humans are biologically predisposed to
organised violence.
 Designating projects and places of cultural and scientific significance, such as:
 o Global Geoparks Network
o Biosphere reserves, through the Programme on Man and the
Biosphere (MAB), since 1971
o City of Literature; in 2007, the first city to be given this title
was Edinburgh, the site of Scotland's first circulating library.[51] In 2008,
Iowa City, Iowa, became the City of Literature.[52][53]
o Endangered languages and linguistic diversity projects (UNESCO Atlas
of the World's Languages in Danger)
o Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
o Memory of the World International Register, since 1997
o Water resources management, through the International Hydrological
Programme (IHP), since 1965
o World Heritage Sites
o World Digital Library
 Encouraging the "free flow of ideas by images and words" by:
o Promoting freedom of expression, including freedom of the
press and freedom of information legislation, through the Division of
Freedom of Expression and Media Development,[54] including
the International Programme for the Development of Communication[55]
o Promoting the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those
who attack them,[56] through coordination of the UN Plan of Action on the
Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity[57]
o Promoting universal access to and preservation of information and open
solutions for sustainable development through the Knowledge Societies
Division,[58] including the Memory of the World
Programme[59] and Information for All Programme[60]
o Promoting pluralism, gender equality and cultural diversity in the media
o Promoting Internet Universality and its principles, that the Internet should
be (I) human Rights-based, (ii) Open, (iii) Accessible to all, and (iv)
nurtured by Multi-stakeholder participation (summarized as the acronym
R.O.A.M.)[61]
o Generating knowledge through publications such as World Trends in
Freedom of Expression and Media Development,[62] the UNESCO Series
on Internet Freedom,[63] and the Media Development Indicators,[64] as well
as other indicator-based studies.
 Promoting events, such as:
o International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-
Violence for the Children of the World: 2001–2010, proclaimed by the UN
in 1998
o World Press Freedom Day, 3 May each year, to promote freedom of
expression and freedom of the press as a basic human right and as
crucial components of any healthy, democratic and free society.
o Criança Esperança in Brazil, in partnership with Rede Globo, to raise
funds for community-based projects that foster social integration and
violence prevention.
o International Literacy Day, 8 September each year
o International Year for the Culture of Peace, 2000
o Health Education for Behavior Change programme in partnership with
the Ministry of Education of Kenya which was financially supported by
the Government of Azerbaijan to promote health education among 10-
19-year-old young people who live in informal camp in Kibera, Nairobi.
The project was carried out between September 2014 – December 2016.
[65]

o World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 21 May
each year
 Founding and funding projects, such as:
o Migration Museums Initiative: Promoting the establishment of museums
for cultural dialogue with migrant populations.[66]
 o UNESCO-CEPES, the European Centre for Higher Education:
established in 1972 in Bucharest, Romania, as a decentralized office to
promote international co-operation in higher education in Europe as well
as Canada, USA and Israel. Higher Education in Europe is its official
journal.
o Free Software Directory: since 1998 UNESCO and the Free Software
Foundation have jointly funded this project cataloguing free software.
o FRESH, Focusing Resources on Effective School Health[67]
o OANA, Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies
o International Council of Science
o UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
o ASOMPS, Asian Symposium on Medicinal Plants and Spices, a series of
scientific conferences held in Asia
o Botany 2000, a programme supporting taxonomy,
and biological and cultural diversity of medicinal and ornamental plants,
and their protection against environmental pollution
o The UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, translating works of
world literature both to and from multiple languages, from 1948 to 2005
o GoUNESCO, an umbrella of initiatives to make heritage fun supported
by UNESCO, New Delhi Office[68]
o UNESCO-CHIC BIRUP, UNESCO-CHIC Group (China) Biosphere Rural
and Urbanization Programme[69]
The UNESCO transparency portal[70] has been designed to enable public access to
information regarding the Organization's activities, such as its aggregate budget for a
biennium, as well as links to relevant programmatic and financial documents. These
two distinct sets of information are published on the IATI registry, respectively based on
the IATI Activity Standard and the IATI Organization Standard.
There have been proposals to establish two new UNESCO lists. The first proposed list
will focus on movable cultural heritage such as artifacts, paintings, and biofacts. The list
may include cultural objects, such as the Jōmon Venus of Japan, the Mona Lisa of
France, the Gebel el-Arak Knife of Egypt, The Ninth Wave of Russia, the Seated
Woman of Çatalhöyük of Turkey, the David (Michelangelo) of Italy, the Mathura
Herakles of India, the Manunggul Jar of the Philippines, the Crown of Baekje of South
Korea, The Hay Wain of the United Kingdom and the Benin Bronzes of Nigeria. The
second proposed list will focus on the world's living species, such as the komodo
dragon of Indonesia, the panda of China, the bald eagle of North American countries,
the aye-aye of Madagascar, the Asiatic lion of India, the kākāpō of New Zealand, and
the mountain tapir of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.[71][72]
Media[edit]
UNESCO and its specialized institutions issue a number of magazines.
Created in 1945, The UNESCO Courier magazine states its mission to "promote
UNESCO's ideals, maintain a platform for the dialogue between cultures and provide a
forum for international debate". Since March 2006 it has been available free online, with
limited printed issues. Its articles express the opinions of the authors which are not
necessarily the opinions of UNESCO. There was a hiatus in publishing between 2012
and 2017.[73]
In 1950, UNESCO initiated the quarterly review Impact of Science on Society (also
known as Impact) to discuss the influence of science on society. The journal ceased
publication in 1992.[74] UNESCO also published Museum International Quarterly from the
year 1948.
Official UNESCO NGOs[edit]
UNESCO has official relations with 322 international non-governmental
organizations (NGOs).[75] Most of these are what UNESCO calls "operational"; a select
few are "formal".[76] The highest form of affiliation to UNESCO is "formal associate", and
the 22 NGOs[77] with formal associate (ASC) relations occupying offices at UNESCO are:

Abbr Organization

IB International Baccalaureate

CCIVS Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service

International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (Conseil International de

CIPSH
Philosophie et des Sciences Humaines; publishes Diogenes)

International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (Conseil International
CIOFF
des Organisations de Festivals de Folklore et d'Arts Traditionnels)

EI Education International

IAU International Association of Universities

IFTC International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication

ICOM International Council of Museums

ICSSPE International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education

ICA International Council on Archives

ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites

IFJ International Federation of Journalists

IFLA International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

IFPA International Federation of Poetry Associations

IMC International Music Council

IPA International Police Association

 Abbr Organization

INSULA International Scientific Council for Island Development

ISC International Science Council (formerly ICSU and ISSC)

ITI International Theatre Institute

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

IUTAO International Union of Technical Associations and Organizations

UIA Union of International Associations

WAN World Association of Newspapers

WFEO World Federation of Engineering Organizations

WFUCA World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations

UNESCO Institute for Water Education in Delft

Institutes and centres[edit]

The institutes are specialized departments of the organization that support UNESCO's
programme, providing specialized support for cluster and national offices.

Abbr Name Location

IBE International Bureau of Education Geneva[78]

UIL UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Hamburg[79]

IIEP UNESCO International Institute for Paris (headquarters) and Buenos

 Abbr Name Location

Educational Planning Aires and Dakar (regional offices)[80]

UNESCO Institute for Information

IITE Moscow[81]
Technologies in Education

UNESCO International Institute for Capacity

IICBA Addis Ababa[82]
Building in Africa

UNESCO International Institute for Higher

IESALC Caracas[83]
Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for

MGIEP New Delhi[84]
Peace and Sustainable Development

UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for

UNESCO-
Technical and Vocational Education and Bonn[85]
UNEVOC
Training

International Centre for Water Resources and

ICWRGC Koblenz[86]
Global Change

IHE IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education Delft[87]

ICTP International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste[88]

UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics Montreal[89]

Prizes[edit]
UNESCO awards 26 prizes[90] in education, natural sciences, social and human
sciences, culture, communication and information as well as peace:
Education[edit]
 UNESCO/King Sejong Literacy Prize
 UNESCO/Confucius Prize for Literacy
 UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development
 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education
 UNESCO/Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for Outstanding Practice and
Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teachers
 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and
Communication Technologies in Education
Natural Sciences[edit]
 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science
 UNESCO/Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science
 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences
 Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology
 UNESCO/Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation
 UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences
 UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in
STEM
 Michel Batisse Award for Biosphere Reserve Management
Social and Human Sciences[edit]
 UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science
 UNESCO/Juan Bosch Prize for the Promotion of Social Science Research in Latin
America and the Caribbean
 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence
 UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture
 UNESCO/International José Martí Prize
 UNESCO-UNAM / Jaime Torres Bodet Prize in social sciences, humanities and arts
Culture[edit]
 Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of
Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece)
Communication and Information[edit]
 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
 UNESCO/Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize to promote Quality
Education for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
Peace[edit]
 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize
Inactive prizes[edit]
 International Simón Bolívar Prize (inactive since 2004)
 UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education
 UNESCO/Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life
Sciences (inactive since 2010)
 UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Arts
International Days observed at UNESCO[edit]
International Days observed at UNESCO are provided in the table below:[91]

Date Name

14 January World Logic Day

24 January World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture[92]

24 January International Day of Education

 Date Name

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the

27 January
Holocaust

11 February International Day of Women and Girls in Science

13 February World Radio Day

21 February International Mother Language Day

4 March UNESCO World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development

8 March International Women's Day

14 March International Day of Mathematics

20 March International Francophonie Day

21 March International Day of Nowruz

21 March World Poetry Day

21 March International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

22 March World Water Day

5 April International Day of Conscience

6 April International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

15 April World Art Day

23 April World Book and Copyright Day

 Date Name

30 April International Jazz Day

3 May World Press Freedom Day

5 May African World Heritage Day

5 May World Portuguese Language Day

16 May International Day of Light

21 May World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

22 May International Day for Biological Diversity

5 June World Environment Day

8 June World Oceans Day

17 June World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

7 July Kiswahili Language Day

18 July Nelson Mandela International Day

26 July International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem

9 August International Day of the World's Indigenous People

12 August International Youth Day

23 August International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

8 September International Literacy Day

 Date Name

9 September International Day to Protect Education from Attack

15 September International Day of Democracy

20 September International Day for University Sport

21 September International Day of Peace

28 September International Day for the Universal Access to Information

5 October World Teachers' Day

6 October International Geodiversity Day[93]

11 October International Day of the Girl Child

13 October International Day for Disaster Reduction

17 October International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

24 October United Nations Day

27 October World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

2 November International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists[94]

3 November International Day for Biosphere Reserves[95]

First Thursday of International day against violence and bullying at school including
November cyberbullying[96]

5 November World Day of Romani Language

5 November World Tsunami Awareness Day

 Date Name

10 November World Science Day for Peace and Development

14 November International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property[97]

Third Thursday of
World Philosophy Day
November

16 November International Day for Tolerance

18 November International International Day of Islamic Art[98]

25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

26 November World Olive Tree Day[99]

29 November International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

1 December World AIDS Day

2 December World Futures Day[100]

3 December International Day of Persons with Disabilities

10 December Human Rights Day

18 December International Migrants Day

18 December World Arabic Language Day

Member states[edit]
Main article: Member states of UNESCO
 UNESCO member states

UNESCO member state dependent territory with separate NOC

UNESCO associates

UNESCO observers

As of July 2023, UNESCO has 194 member states and 12 associate members.[101] Some
members are not independent states and some members have additional National
Organizing Committees from some of their dependent territories.[102] UNESCO state
parties are the United Nations member states (except Israel[103] and Liechtenstein), as
well as Cook Islands, Niue and Palestine.[104][105] The United States and Israel left
UNESCO on 31 December 2018,[106][107] but the U.S. rejoined in 2023.[108][109]
Governing bodies[edit]
Director-General[edit]
As of June 2023, there have been 11 Directors-General of UNESCO since its
inception – nine men and two women. The 11 Directors-General of UNESCO have
come from six regions within the organization: West Europe (5), Central America (1),
North America (2), West Africa (1), East Asia (1), and East Europe (1).
To date, there has been no elected Director-General from the remaining ten regions
within UNESCO: Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central and North Asia, Middle East,
North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, Australia-Oceania, and South
America.
The list of the Directors-General of UNESCO since its establishment in 1946 is as
follows:[110]

Directors-General of UNESCO

Order Image Name Country Term

1st Julian Huxley United Kingdom 1946–1948

2nd Jaime Torres Bodet Mexico 1948–1952

– John Wilkinson Taylor United States acting 1952–1953

3rd Luther Evans United States 1953–1958

4th Vittorino Veronese Italy 1958–1961

acting 1961; 1961–

5th René Maheu France
1974

6th Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow Senegal 1974–1987

Federico Mayor
7th Spain 1987–1999
Zaragoza

8th Koïchiro Matsuura Japan 1999–2009

9th Irina Bokova Bulgaria 2009–2017

10th Audrey Azoulay France 2017–Incumbent

General Conference[edit]
This is the list of the sessions of the UNESCO General Conference held since 1946: [111]

Session Location Year Chaired by from

1st Paris 1946 Léon Blum France

2nd Mexico City 1947 Manuel Gual Vidal Mexico

3rd Beirut 1948 Hamid Bey Frangie Lebanon

1st extraordinary Paris 1948

4th Paris 1949 Edward Ronald Walker Australia

5th Florence 1950 Stefano Jacini Italy

6th Paris 1951 Howland H. Sargeant United States

7th Paris 1952 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan India

2nd extraordinary Paris 1953

8th Montevideo 1954 Justino Zavala Muniz Uruguay

9th New Delhi 1956 Abul Kalam Azad India

10th Paris 1958 Jean Berthoin France

11th Paris 1960 Akale-Work Abte-Wold Ethiopia

12th Paris 1962 Paulo de Berrêdo Carneiro Brazil

 Session Location Year Chaired by from

13th Paris 1964 Norair Sisakian Soviet Union

14th Paris 1966 Bedrettin Tuncel Turkey

15th Paris 1968 William Eteki Mboumoua Cameroon

16th Paris 1970 Atilio Dell'Oro Maini Argentina

17th Paris 1972 Toru Haguiwara Japan

3rd extraordinary Paris 1973

18th Paris 1974 Magda Jóború Hungary

19th Nairobi 1976 Taaita Toweett Kenya

20th Paris 1978 Napoléon LeBlanc Canada

21st Belgrade 1980 Ivo Margan Yugoslavia

4th extraordinary Paris 1982

22nd Paris 1983 Saïd Tell Jordan

23rd Sofia 1985 Nikolai Todorov Bulgaria

24th Paris 1987 Guillermo Putzeys Alvarez Guatemala

25th Paris 1989 Anwar Ibrahim Malaysia

26th Paris 1991 Bethwell Allan Ogot Kenya

 Session Location Year Chaired by from

27th Paris 1993 Ahmed Saleh Sayyad Yemen

28th Paris 1995 Torben Krogh Denmark

29th Paris 1997 Eduardo Portella Brazil

30th Paris 1999 Jaroslava Moserová Czech Republic

31st Paris 2001 Ahmad Jalali Iran

32nd Paris 2003 Michael Omolewa Nigeria

33rd Paris 2005 Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan Oman

34th Paris 2007 Georgios Anastassopoulos Greece

35th Paris 2009 Davidson Hepburn Bahamas

36th Paris 2011 Katalin Bogyay Hungary

37th[112] Paris 2013 Hao Ping China

38th Paris 2015 Stanley Mutumba Simataa[113] Namibia

39th Paris 2017 Zohour Alaoui[114] Morocco

40th Paris 2019 Turkey

Ahmet Altay Cengizer[115]

41st[116] Paris 2021 Santiago Irazabal Mourão Brazil

42nd[117] Paris 2023 Simona Miculescu Romania

Executive Board[edit]
Biennial elections are held, with 58 elected representatives holding office for four years.

Term Group I Group II Group III Group IV Group V(a) Group V(b)
 (9 seats) (7 seats) (10 seats) (12 seats) (13 seats) (7 seats)

Cuba
Grenada Banglades Burundi
Jamaica h Equatorial
Saint China Guinea Egypt
2017– Finland Albania Lucia India Ethiopia Jordan
2021 Portugal Belarus Saint Indonesia Madagasca Moroc
Turkey Bulgaria Vincent and
Japan r co
the
Philippine Zambia
Grenadines
s Zimbabwe
Venezuel
a

Afghanist
France an Benin
Germany Argentin Kyrgyzsta Congo
2019– Italy Hungary a n Guinea Saudi
2023[11 Netherlan Poland Brazil Philippine Ghana Arabia
8]
ds Russia Dominic s Kenya UAE
Spain Serbia an Republic Pakistan Namibia Tunisia
Switzerlan Uruguay South Senegal
d Korea Togo
Thailand

China
Chile Angola
Cook
Armenia Grenada Botswana
2021– Islands
Austria Azerbaij Haiti Congo Egypt
2025[11 India
9] Iceland an Mexico Djibouti Jordan
Japan
Turkey Lithuani Paraguay South Kuwait
Philippine
a Saint Africa
s
Lucia Tanzania
Vietnam

Burkina
France Australia Faso
Germany Argentin Banglades Côte
Albania Iraq
2023– Italy a h d'Ivoire
Czech Oman
2027[12 Spain Brazil Indonesia Gabon
Republic Liberia Qatar
0]
United Cuba Pakistan
Serbia Saudi
Kingdom Dominic South Mauritius
Slovakia Arabia
United an Republic Korea Mozambiq
States Sri Lanka ue
Nigeria

Offices and headquarters[edit]

Main article: World Heritage Centre
 The Garden of Peace at UNESCO headquarters

The UNESCO headquarters is located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France. Several

architects collaborated on the construction of the headquarters, including Bernard
Zehrfuss, Marcel Breuer and Luigi Nervi.[121] It includes a Garden of Peace which was
donated by the Government of Japan.[122] This garden was designed by American-
Japanese sculptor artist Isamu Noguchi in 1958 and installed by Japanese gardener
Toemon Sano. In 1994–1995, in memory of the 50th anniversary of UNESCO,
a meditation room was built by Tadao Ando.[123]
UNESCO's field offices across the globe are categorized into four primary office types
based upon their function and geographic coverage: cluster offices, national offices,
regional bureaus and liaison offices.
Field offices by region[edit]
The following list of all UNESCO Field Offices is organized geographically by UNESCO
Region and identifies the members states and associate members of UNESCO which
are served by each office.[124]
Africa[edit]

 Abidjan – National Office to Côte d'Ivoire

 Abuja – National Office to Nigeria
 Accra – Cluster Office for Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone and Togo
 Addis Ababa – Liaison Office with the African Union and with the Economic
Commission for Africa
 Bamako – Cluster Office for Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger
 Brazzaville – National Office to the Republic of the Congo
 Bujumbura – National Office to Burundi
 Dakar – Regional Bureau for Education in Africa and Cluster Office for Cape
Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal
 Dar es Salaam – Cluster Office
for Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania
 Harare – Cluster Office for Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
 Juba – National Office to South Sudan
 Kinshasa – National Office to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
 Libreville – Cluster Office for the Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe
 Maputo – National Office to Mozambique
 Nairobi – Regional Bureau for Sciences in Africa and Cluster Office
for Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda
  Windhoek – National Office to Namibia
 Yaoundé – Cluster Office to Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad
Arab States[edit]

 Amman – National Office to Jordan

 Beirut – Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States and Cluster Office
to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine
 Cairo – Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States and Cluster Office
for Egypt and Sudan
 Doha – Cluster Office to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates and Yemen
 Iraq – National Office for Iraq (currently located in Amman, Jordan)
 Khartoum – National Office to Sudan
 Manama – Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage
 Rabat – Cluster Office to Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia
 Ramallah – National Office to the Palestinian Territories
Asia and Pacific[edit]
See also: UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards

 Almaty – Cluster Office to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

 Apia – Cluster Office to Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua
New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Tokelau (Associate Member)
 Bangkok – Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific and Cluster Office
to Thailand, Burma, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam
 Beijing – Cluster Office to North Korea, Japan, Mongolia, the People's Republic of
China and South Korea
 Dhaka – National Office to Bangladesh
 Hanoi – National Office to Vietnam
 Islamabad – National Office to Pakistan
 Jakarta – Regional Bureau for Sciences in Asia and the Pacific and Cluster Office to
the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and East Timor
 Manila – National Office to the Philippines
 Kabul – National Office to Afghanistan
 Kathmandu – National Office to Nepal
 New Delhi – Cluster Office to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka
 Phnom Penh – National Office to Cambodia
 Tashkent – National Office to Uzbekistan
 Tehran – Cluster Office to Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan
Europe and North America[edit]

 Brussels – Liaison Office to the European Union and its subsidiary bodies in
Brussels
 Geneva – Liaison Office to the United Nations in Geneva
 New York City – Liaison Office to the United Nations in New York
 Venice – Regional Bureau for Sciences and Culture in Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean[edit]
 Carondelet Palace, Presidential Palace – with
changing of the guards. The Historic Center of Quito, Ecuador, is one of the largest, least-
altered and best-preserved historic centres in the Americas. This centre was, together with
[125]

the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO
on 18 September 1978.

 Brasília – National Office to Brazil[126]

 Guatemala City – National Office to Guatemala
 Havana – Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean and
Cluster Office to Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Aruba
 Kingston – Cluster Office to Antigua and
Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the associate member
states of British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten
 Lima – National Office to Peru
 Mexico City – National Office to Mexico
 Montevideo – Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and
the Caribbean and Cluster Office to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
 Port-au-Prince – National Office to Haiti
 Quito – Cluster Office to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela[127]
 San José – Cluster Office to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama
 Santiago de Chile – Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the
Caribbean and National Office to Chile
Partner organisations[edit]
 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
 Blue Shield International (BSI)
 International Council of Museums (ICOM)
 International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
 International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL)
Controversies[edit]
New World Information and Communication Order[edit]
UNESCO has been the centre of controversy in the past, particularly in its relationships
with the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the former Soviet Union.
During the 1970s and 1980s, UNESCO's support for a "New World Information and
Communication Order" and its MacBride report calling for democratization of the media
and more egalitarian access to information was condemned in these countries as
attempts to curb freedom of the press. UNESCO was perceived as a platform for
communists and Third World dictators to attack the West, in contrast to accusations
made by the USSR in the late 1940s and early 1950s.[128] In 1984, the United States
withheld its contributions and withdrew from the organization in protest, followed by the
United Kingdom in 1985.[129] Singapore withdrew also at the end of 1985, citing rising
membership fees.[130] Following a change of government in 1997, the UK rejoined. The
United States rejoined in 2003, followed by Singapore on 8 October 2007.[131]
China[edit]
UNESCO has been criticized as being used by the People's Republic of China to
present a Chinese Communist Party version of history and to dilute the contributions
of ethnic minorities in China such as Uyghurs and Tibetans.[132][133][134]
Israel[edit]
Israel was admitted to UNESCO in 1949, one year after its creation. Israel has
maintained its membership since then. In 2010, Israel designated the Cave of the
Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem – both in the West Bank –
as National Heritage Sites and announced restoration work, prompting criticism from
the Obama administration and protests from Palestinians.[135] In October 2010,
UNESCO's executive board voted to declare the sites as "al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of
the Patriarchs" and "Bilal bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb" and stated that they were
"an integral part of the occupied Palestinian Territories" and any unilateral Israeli action
was a violation of international law.[136] UNESCO described the sites as significant to
"people of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions", and accused Israel of
highlighting only the Jewish character of the sites.[137] Israel in turn accused UNESCO of
"detach[ing] the Nation of Israel from its heritage", and accused it of being politically
motivated.[138] The Rabbi of the Western Wall said that Rachel's tomb had not previously
been declared a holy Muslim site.[139] Israel partially suspended ties with UNESCO.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon declared that the resolution was a "part of
Palestinian escalation". Zevulun Orlev, chairman of the Knesset Education and Culture
Committee, referred to the resolutions as an attempt to undermine the mission of
UNESCO as a scientific and cultural organization that promotes cooperation throughout
the world.[140][141]
On 28 June 2011, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, at Jordan's insistence,
censured[clarification needed] Israel's decision to demolish and rebuild the Mughrabi Gate Bridge in
Jerusalem for safety reasons. Israel stated that Jordan had signed an agreement with
Israel stipulating that the existing bridge must be dismantled for safety reasons; Jordan
disputed the agreement, saying that it was only signed under U.S. pressure. Israel was
also unable to address the UNESCO committee over objections from Egypt.[142]
In January 2014, days before it was scheduled to open, UNESCO Director-
General, Irina Bokova, "indefinitely postponed" and effectively cancelled an exhibit
created by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre entitled "The People, The Book, The Land:
The 3,500-year relationship between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel". The
event was scheduled to run from 21 January through 30 January in Paris. Bokova
cancelled the event after representatives of Arab states at UNESCO argued that its
display would "harm the peace process".[143] The author of the exhibition,
professor Robert Wistrich of the Hebrew University's Vidal Sassoon International
Centre for the Study of Anti-Semitism, called the cancellation an "appalling act", and
characterized Bokova's decision as "an arbitrary act of total cynicism and, really,
contempt for the Jewish people and its history". UNESCO amended the decision to
cancel the exhibit within the year, and it quickly achieved popularity and was viewed as
a great success.[144]
On 1 January 2019, Israel formally left UNESCO in pursuance of the US withdrawal
over the perceived continuous anti-Israel bias.[145]
Occupied Palestine Resolution[edit]
Main article: Occupied Palestine Resolution

On 13 October 2016, UNESCO passed a resolution on East Jerusalem that

condemned Israel for "aggressions" by Israeli police and soldiers and "illegal measures"
against the freedom of worship and Muslims' access to their holy sites, while also
recognizing Israel as the occupying power. Palestinian leaders welcomed the decision.
 While the text acknowledged the "importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its
[146]

walls for the three monotheistic religions", it referred to the sacred hilltop compound in
Jerusalem's Old City only by its Muslim name "Al-Haram al-Sharif", Arabic for Noble
Sanctuary. In response, Israel denounced the UNESCO resolution for its omission of
the words "Temple Mount" or "Har HaBayit", stating that it denies Jewish ties to the key
holy site.[146][147] After receiving criticism from numerous Israeli politicians and diplomats,
including Benjamin Netanyahu and Ayelet Shaked, Israel froze all ties with the
organization.[148][149] The resolution was condemned by Ban Ki-moon and the Director-
General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, who said that Judaism, Islam and Christianity have
clear historical connections to Jerusalem and "to deny, conceal or erase any of the
Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site.[150][151] "Al-Aqsa
Mosque [or] Al-Haram al-Sharif" is also Temple Mount, whose Western Wall is the
holiest place in Judaism."[152] It was also rejected by the Czech Parliament which said the
resolution reflects a "hateful anti-Israel sentiment",[153] and hundreds of Italian Jews
demonstrated in Rome over Italy's abstention.[153] On 26 October, UNESCO approved a
reviewed version of the resolution, which also criticized Israel for its continuous "refusal
to let the body's experts access Jerusalem's holy sites to determine their conservation
status".[154] Despite containing some softening of language following Israeli protests over
a previous version, Israel continued to denounce the text.[155] The resolution refers to the
site Jews and Christians refer to as the Temple Mount, or Har HaBayit in Hebrew, only
by its Arab name – a significant semantic decision also adopted by UNESCO's
executive board, triggering condemnation from Israel and its allies. U.S. Ambassador
Crystal Nix Hines stated: "This item should have been defeated. These politicized and
one-sided resolutions are damaging the credibility of UNESCO."[156]
In October 2017, the United States and Israel announced they would withdraw from the
organization, citing in-part anti-Israel bias.[157][158]
Palestine[edit]
Palestinian youth magazine controversy[edit]
In February 2011, an article was published in a Palestinian youth magazine in which a
teenage girl described one of her four role models as Adolf Hitler. In December 2011,
UNESCO, which partly funded the magazine, condemned the material and
subsequently withdrew support.[159]
Islamic University of Gaza controversy[edit]
In 2012, UNESCO decided to establish a chair at the Islamic University of Gaza in the
field of astronomy, astrophysics, and space sciences,[160] fueling controversy and
criticism. Israel bombed the school in 2008 stating that they develop and store weapons
there, which Israel restated in criticizing UNESCO's move.[161][162]
The head, Kamalain Shaath, defended UNESCO, stating that "the Islamic University is
a purely academic university that is interested only in education and its development".[163]
[164][165]
Israeli ambassador to UNESCO Nimrod Barkan planned to submit a letter of
protest with information about the university's ties to Hamas, especially angry that this
was the first Palestinian university that UNESCO chose to cooperate with. [166] The
Jewish organization B'nai B'rith criticized the move as well.[167]
Listing Nanjing Massacre documents[edit]
In 2015, Japan threatened to halt funding for UNESCO over the organization's decision
to include documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing massacre in the latest listing for its
"Memory of the World" program.[168] In October 2016, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio
Kishida confirmed that Japan's 2016 annual funding of ¥4.4 billion had been
suspended, although he denied any direct link with the Nanjing document controversy.
[169]

US withdrawals[edit]
The United States withdrew from UNESCO in 1984, citing the "highly politicized" nature
of the organisation, its ostensible "hostility toward the basic institutions of a free society,
especially a free market and a free press", as well as its "unrestrained budgetary
expansion", and poor management under then Director-General Amadou-Mahtar
M'Bow of Senegal.[170]
On 19 September 1989, U.S. Congressman Jim Leach stated before a congressional
subcommittee:[171]
The reasons for the withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO in 1984 are well-
known; my view is that we overreacted to the calls of some who wanted to radicalize
UNESCO, and the calls of others who wanted the United States to lead in emasculating
the UN system. The fact is UNESCO is one of the least dangerous international
institutions ever created. While some member countries within UNESCO attempted to
push journalistic views antithetical to the values of the west, and engage in Israel
bashing, UNESCO itself never adopted such radical postures. The U.S. opted for
empty-chair diplomacy, after winning, not losing, the battles we engaged in... It was
nuts to get out, and would be nuttier not to rejoin.
Leach concluded that the record showed Israel bashing, a call for a new world
information order, money management, and arms control policy to be the impetus
behind the withdrawal; he asserted that before departing from UNESCO, a withdrawal
from the IAEA had been pushed on him.[171] On 1 October 2003, the U.S. rejoined
UNESCO.[170]
On 12 October 2017, the United States notified UNESCO that it would again withdraw
from the organization, on 31 December 2018; Israel followed suit.[172] The Department of
State cited "mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the
organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO".[157]
The United States has not paid over $600 million in dues[173] since it stopped paying its
$80 million annual UNESCO dues when Palestine became a full member in 2011.
Israel and the US were among the 14 votes against the membership out of 194
member countries.[174] When the U.S. announced that it was rejoining the body in 2023, it
also pledged to pay all past due payments.[108]
Kurdish–Turkish conflict[edit]
On 25 May 2016, Turkish poet and human rights activist Zülfü Livaneli resigned
as Turkey's only UNESCO goodwill ambassador. He highlighted the human rights
situation in Turkey and the destruction of historical Sur district of Diyarbakir, the largest
city in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey, during fighting between the Turkish army and
Kurdish militants as the main reasons for his resignation. Livaneli said: "To pontificate
on peace while remaining silent against such violations is a contradiction of the
fundamental ideals of UNESCO."[175]
Campaigns against illicit art trading[edit]
In 2020 UNESCO stated that the size of the illicit trade in cultural property amounted to
10 billion dollars a year. A report that same year by the Rand Organisation suggested
the actual market is "not likely to be larger than a few hundred million dollars each
year". An expert cited by UNESCO as attributing the 10 billion figure denied it and said
he had "no idea" where the figure came from. Art dealers were particularly critical of the
UNESCO figure, because it amounted to 15% of the total world art market. [176]
In November 2020 part of a UNESCO advertising campaign intended to highlight
international trafficking in looted artefacts had to be withdrawn, after it falsely presented
a series of museum-held artworks with known provenances as recently looted objects
held in private collections. The adverts claimed that a head of Buddha in the
Metropolitan Museum's collection since 1930 had been looted from Kabul Museum in
2001 and then smuggled into the US art market; that a funerary monument from
Palmyra that the MET had acquired in 1901 had been recently looted from the Palmyra
Museum by Islamic State militants and then smuggled into the European antiquities
market, and that an Ivory Coast mask with a provenance that indicates it was in the US
by 1954 was looted during armed clashes in 2010–2011. After complaints from the
MET, the adverts were withdrawn.[177]
Products and services[edit]
 UNESDOC Database[178] – Contains over 146,000 UNESCO documents in full text
published since 1945 as well as metadata from the collections of the UNESCO
Library and documentation centres in field offices and institutes.
Information processing tools[edit]
UNESCO develops, maintains and disseminates, free of charge, two interrelated
software packages for database management (CDS/ISIS [not to be confused with UK
police software package ISIS]) and data mining/statistical analysis (IDAMS). [179]

 CDS/ISIS – a generalised information storage and retrieval system. The Windows

version may run on a single computer or in a local area network. The JavaISIS
client/server components allow remote database management over the Internet and
are available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh. Furthermore, GenISIS allows the
user to produce HTML Web forms for CDS/ISIS database searching. The ISIS_DLL
provides an API for developing CDS/ISIS based applications.
 OpenIDAMS – a software package for processing and analysing numerical data
developed, maintained and disseminated by UNESCO. The original package was
proprietary but UNESCO has initiated a project to provide it as open-source.[180]
 IDIS – a tool for direct data exchange between CDS/ISIS and IDAMS
See also[edit]

 Schools portal

 Science portal

 Society portal

 Politics portal

 World portal

 Academic mobility network

 League of Nations archives
 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
 UNESCO Reclining Figure 1957–58, sculpture by Henry Moore
 UniRef
 National Commissions for UNESCO
Notes[edit]
1. ^ UNESCO;[1] French: Organisation des Nations unites pour l'éducation, la science et la
culture

References[edit]
1. ^ "UNESCO". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25
September 2013.
2. ^ "Introducing UNESCO". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011.
Retrieved 8 August 2011.
3. ^ "UNESCO history". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23
April 2010.
4. ^ "List of UNESCO members and associates". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 15
August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
5. ^ "Partnerships". UNESCO. 25 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020.
Retrieved 19 August 2020.
6. ^ "Field offices". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 19
August 2020.
7. ^ "National Commissions". UNESCO. 28 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22
August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
8. ^ "About UNESCO Office for the Pacific States". UNESCO. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 24
July 2023.
9. ^ Grandjean, Martin (2018). Les réseaux de la coopération intellectuelle. La Société des
Nations comme actrice des échanges scientifiques et culturels dans l'entre-deux-
guerres [The Networks of Intellectual Cooperation. The League of Nations as an Actor of the
Scientific and Cultural Exchanges in the Inter-War Period]. Lausanne: Université de
Lausanne. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 5
April 2019. (English summary Archived 22 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine).
10. ^ Jump up to:a b "UNESCO. General Conference, 39th, 2017 [892]". UNESCO Digital
Library. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
11. ^ "MOFA: Project list of The UNESCO Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Capacity-building of
Human Resources". mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
12. ^ "Sponsors". climats-bourgogne.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
13. ^ "Sponsors and Contributors". wcrp-climate.org. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
14. ^ "UNESCO • General Conference; 34th; Medium-term Strategy, 2008–2013;
2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
15. ^ "UNDG Members". United Nations Development Group. Archived from the original on 11
May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
16. ^ Plenary Meetings, Records of the Second Assembly, Geneva: League of Nations, 5
September – 5 October 1921
17. ^ A Chronology of UNESCO: 1945–1987 (PDF), UNESDOC database, Paris, December
1987, LAD.85/WS/4 Rev, archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2011, retrieved 13
December 2010, The International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICIC) was
created on 4 January 1922, as a consultative organ composed of individuals elected based
on their personal qualifications..
18. ^ Grandjean, Martin (2018). Les réseaux de la coopération intellectuelle: La Société des
Nations comme actrice des échanges scientifiques et culturels dans l'entre-deux-
guerres [The Networks of Intellectual Cooperation: The League of Nations as an Actor of the
Scientific and Cultural Exchanges in the Inter-War Period] (doctoral thesis) (in French).
Lausanne: Université de Lausanne. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018.
Retrieved 5 April 2019. A summary in English is also available.
19. ^ Grandjean, Martin (2020). "A Representative Organization? Ibero-American Networks in
the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations (1922–1939)". Cultural
Organizations, Networks and Mediators in Contemporary Ibero-America: 65–
89. doi:10.4324/9780429299407-4. S2CID 243387712. Archived from the original on 17
January 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
20. ^ International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation, United Nations library resources,
1930, archived from the original on 19 August 2021, retrieved 27 March 2021
21. ^ Hamen, Susan E; Wilson, Theodore A (2014). The Great Depression and World War II :
1929–1945. ABDO Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-62403-178-6. OCLC 870724668.
22. ^ UNESCO 1987.
23. ^ The work of U.N.E.S.C.O. (Hansard, 26 January 1949) Archived 19 October 2017 at
the Wayback Machine. Millbank systems. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
24. ^ "United Nations Conference for the Establishment of an Educational and Cultural
Organisation. Conference for the Establishment of an Educational and Cultural
Organisation" (PDF). UNESDOC database. The Institute of Civil Engineers, London. 1–16
November 1945. ECO/Conf./29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2012.
Retrieved 8 June 2012.
25. ^ Unesco 1945.
26. ^ General Conference, First Session (PDF). UNESDOC database. UNESCO House, Paris:
UNESCO. 1947. Item 14, p. 73. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2012.
Retrieved 1 July 2012.
27. ^ Summary Minutes of Meetings 1956. United States National Commission for the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 1956. Archived from the original
on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
28. ^ "Records of the General Conference, Eighth Session" (PDF). UNESCO Digital
Library. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
29. ^ "Peacekeeping in the Cold War/Post-Cold War", United Nations Peacekeeping in the Post-
Cold War Era, Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis, pp. 23–45,
2005, doi:10.4324/9780203307434_chapter_2, ISBN 978-0-203-30743-4, archived from the
original on 12 March 2021, retrieved 17 September 2020
30. ^ Schmidt, Christopher. (2010). Into the heart of darkness : cosmopolitanism vs. realism and
the Democratic Republic of Congo. OCLC 650842164. Archived from the original on 12
March 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
31. ^ Thompson, Leonard Monteath (January 2001). A history of South Africa (Third ed.). New
Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12806-2. OCLC 560542020.
32. ^ Nygren, Thomas (2016), "UNESCO Teaches History: Implementing International
Understanding in Sweden", A History of UNESCO, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK,
pp. 201–230, doi:10.1007/978-1-137-58120-4_11, ISBN 978-1-349-84528-6, archived from
the original on 9 February 2022, retrieved 17 September 2020
33. ^ "World Declaration On Higher Education For The Twenty-First Century: Vision And Action".
Unesco.org. 9 October 1998. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
34. ^ Nagaoka, Masanori (2016). Cultural landscape management at Borobudur, Indonesia.
Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-42046-2. OCLC 957437019.
35. ^ "UNESCO must reform to stay relevant – and reconnect people through
science". Nature. 587 (7835): 521–522. 25 November
2020. Bibcode:2020Natur.587..521.. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03311-3. PMID 33239811. S2
CID 227176079.
36. ^ ""Use and conservation of the biosphere: Proceedings of the intergovernmental conference
of experts on the scientific basis for rational use and conservation of the resources of the
biosphere. Paris, 4–13 September 1968." (1970.) In Natural Resources Research, Volume X.
SC.69/XIL.16/A. UNESDOC database" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April
2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
37. ^ Finnemore, Martha (1996). National Interests in International Society. Cornell University
Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8014-8323-3. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1rv61rh. Archived from the
original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
38. ^ "General Conference admits Palestine as UNESCO Member". 31 October
2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
39. ^ Blomfield, Adrian (31 October 2011). "US withdraws Unesco funding after it accepts
Palestinian membership". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011.
Retrieved 31 October 2011.
40. ^ Shadi Sakran (26 November 2019). The Legal Consequences of Limited Statehood:
Palestine in Multilateral Frameworks. Taylor & Francis. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-1-00-076357-
7. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
41. ^ Request for the admission of the State of Palestine to UNESCO as a Member
State Archived 13 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, UNESCO Executive Board, 131st,
1989
42. ^ The laws originated in H.R. 2145 and S. 875; for further details see committee discussions
at: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on Human
Rights and International Organizations (1989). The PLO's Efforts to Obtain Statehood Status
at the World Health Organization and Other International Organizations: Hearing and Markup
Before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, First
Session, on H.R. 2145, May 4, 1989. U.S. Government Printing Office. Archived from the
original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.. The text of the House and Senate
resolutions were subsequently put into the following laws: H.R. 3743 (which produced Pub.
L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 101–246), H.R. 5368, H.R. 2295 and
finally H.R. 2333 (which produced Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 103–236). See
also: Beattie, Kirk (3 May 2016). Congress and the Shaping of the Middle East. Seven
Stories Press. p. 287 online. ISBN 978-1-60980-562-3. Archived from the original on 19
August 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020. ...1989 Senate and House efforts like... Senate
Resolution 875 and House Resolution 2145, both of which contained language similar to that
found in the public laws of 1990 and 1994. Sen. Robert Kasten, Jr. (R-Wl) was the primary
sponsor of S 875, and Rep. Tom Lantos sponsored HR 2145. In a nutshell, recognition by
any UN body of the Palestinians' right to statehood or their achievement of statehood status
would trigger a suspension of US funding to the "offending" UN body under these laws.
43. ^ "U.S. stops UNESCO funding over Palestinian vote". Reuters. 31 October
2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
44. ^ Erlanger, Steven; Sayare, Scott (31 October 2011). "Unesco Approves Full Membership for
Palestinians". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011.
Retrieved 31 October 2011.
45. ^ "After UNESCO vote, Israeli sanctions on Palestinian Authority anger U.S." Haaretz. 4
November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 11
December 2011.
46. ^ "Israel freezes UNESCO funds". CNN. 3 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6
November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
47. ^ "U.S., Israel lose voting rights at UNESCO over Palestine row". Reuters. 8 November
2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
48. ^ ""69 years after joining, Israel formally leaves UNESCO; so, too, does the US" – The Times
of Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019.
Retrieved 2 February 2021.
49. ^ "Russia not elected to UNESCO Executive Board for the first time". 15 November 2023.
50. ^ Because diploma mills have claimed false UNESCO accreditation, UNESCO itself has
published warnings against education organizations that claim UNESCO recognition or
affiliation. See Luca Lantero, Degree Mills: non-accredited and irregular higher education
institutions Archived 13 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Information Centre on Academic
Mobility and Equivalence (CIMEA), Italy. and UNESCO "Alert: Misuse of UNESCO Name by
Bogus Institutions"
51. ^ Varga, Susan (2006). Edinburgh Old Town (Images of Scotland). The History Press
Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7524-4083-5.
52. ^ Schmidt, Mitchell (12 October 2017). "Iowa City, nation's only 'UNESCO City of Literature'
disappointed over withdrawal". The Gazette. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022.
Retrieved 23 September 2021.
53. ^ Phipps, Kinsey (9 December 2018). "Iowa City grows after 10 years as City of
Literature". The Daily Iowan. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 23
September 2021.
54. ^ "Fostering Freedom of Expression". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 10 December
2019. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
55. ^ "International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)". United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Archived from the original on 18 June
2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
56. ^ "Safety of Journalists". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020.
Retrieved 19 December 2016.
57. ^ "UN Plan of Action". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
58. ^ "Building Knowledge Societies". UNESCO. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 16
January 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
59. ^ "Memory of the World". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
60. ^ "Information for All Programme (IFAP)". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 19
December 2016.
61. ^ "Internet Universality". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
62. ^ "World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development". United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Archived from the original on 26 August
2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
63. ^ "UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
64. ^ "Media Development Indicators (MDIs)". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
65. ^ "Promouvoir l'éducation à la santé chez les jeunes du campement informel de Kibera à
Nairobi | Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'éducation, la science et la
culture". unesco.org (in French). Archived from the original on 20 August 2017.
Retrieved 18 August 2017.
66. ^ "Migration Institutions – Home". Migrationmuseums.org. Archived from the original on 5
March 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
67. ^ "Education | EDUCATION –". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009.
Retrieved 23 April 2010.
68. ^ "Official support for GoUNESCO from UNESCO New Delhi". GoUNESCO – Make Heritage
Fun!. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15
August 2019.
69. ^ [1], UNESCO-CHIC Biosphere Integrated Rural Urbanization Project (BIRUP).
70. ^ "UNESCO Transparency Portal". opendata.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 10
May 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
71. ^ "Tangible Cultural Heritage – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization". unesco.org. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18
March 2018.
72. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Document –
Discovered artifacts under preservation, Archaeological Site, 18 Hoang Dieu
street". whc.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 26
December 2019.
73. ^ "Archives". The UNESCO Courier. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. 20 April 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14
November 2018.
74. ^ "Science and Technology Education" (PDF). UNESCO. 1998. Archived (PDF) from the
original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
75. ^ "Quoted on UNESCO official site". Ngo-db.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 25
June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
76. ^ "Full list of NGOs that have official relations with UNESCO". UNESCO. Archived from the
original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
77. ^ "UNESCO Headquarters Committee 107th session 13 Feb 2009". Ngo-db.unesco.org.
Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
78. ^ "International Bureau of Education". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 November
2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
79. ^ "About the Institute". UIL – UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. 29 October
2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
80. ^ "IIEP UNESCO". Archived from the original on 19 November 2014. Retrieved 14
November 2018.
81. ^ "Contact Us". UNESCO IITE. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018.
Retrieved 14 November 2018.
82. ^ "Contact Us". IICBA. UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018.
Retrieved 14 November 2018.
83. ^ "Contact Us". IESALC (in Spanish). UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 November
2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
84. ^ "Building Social and Emotional Learning for Education 2030". UNESCO MGIEP. UNESCO.
Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
85. ^ "UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre". Archived from the original on 14 November
2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
86. ^ "The International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC)". ICWRGC
– International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change. Archived from the original
on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
87. ^ "Home". IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. UNESCO. Archived from the original on
24 October 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
88. ^ "Mission & History". ICTP – International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
UNESCO. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
89. ^ "Contact Us". UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 21 November 2016. Archived from the
original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
90. ^ UNESCO Executive Board Document 185 EX/38 Archived 2 February 2011 at the Wayback
Machine, Paris, 10 September 2010
91. ^ International Days | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization Archived 10 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. UNESCO. Retrieved 12
July 2013.
92. ^ "World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture". United Nations. Retrieved 16
March 2023.
93. ^ "Home". Geodiversity Day. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
94. ^ "International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against
Journalists". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 19
December 2016.
95. ^ "International Day for Biosphere Reserves". UNESCO. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
96. ^ "International day against violence and bullying at school including
cyberbullying". UNESCO. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
97. ^ "International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property". UNESCO. Retrieved 30
March 2023.
98. ^ "International Day of Islamic Art". UNESCO. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
99. ^ "World Day of the Olive Tree". International Olive Council. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
100. ^ "World Futures Day". UNESCO. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
101. ^ "List of UNESCO members and associates". UNESCO. Archived from the original
on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
102. ^ "Summary update on Government progress to become a State Party to the
UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport" (PDF). WADA. p. 2. Archived
from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
103. ^ UNESCO (29 December 2017), Declaration by UNESCO Director-General Audrey
Azoulay on the withdrawal of Israel from the Organization (Press release.), archived from
the original on 21 February 2019, retrieved 21 February 2019
104. ^ "State Parties". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011.
Retrieved 31 October 2011.
105. ^ "Member States of the United Nations". United Nations. Archived from the original
on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
106. ^ Lazaroff, Tovah (31 December 2018). "Israel, U.S. slated to leave UNESCO today
to protest anti-Israel bias". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 9 February
2022. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
107. ^ UNESCO (12 October 2017), Statement by Irina Bokova, Director-General of
UNESCO, on the occasion of the Withdrawal by the United States of America from
UNESCO (Press release.), archived from the original on 21 February 2019, retrieved 21
February 2019
108. ^ Jump up to:a b Charlton, Angela (12 June 2023). "US decides to rejoin UNESCO
and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence". Associated Press. Retrieved 12
June 2023.
109. ^ Lee, Matthew (11 July 2023). "U.S. formally rejoins UNESCO 5 years after
withdraw". PBS. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
110.^ UNESCO official site: Directors-General Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
111.^ UNESCO official site: Previous Sessions of the General Conference Archived 25 October
2011 at the Wayback Machine
112.^ "General Conference 37th". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
113.^ "President of the 38th session of the General Conference". UNESCO. Archived from the
original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
114.^ "President of the 39th session of the General Conference". UNESCO. 5 October
2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
115.^ "UNESCO: President of the 40th session of the General Conference". 14 October
201. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
116.^ "41st Session of the General Conference – 9–24 November 2021". UNESCO. 1 June
2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
117.^ "Address by Ms Simona Mirela Miculescu". 13 November 2023.
118.^ "40th Session of the General Conference – 12–27 November 2019". UNESCO. 16
October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
119.^ "Elections". 17 November 2021.
120. ^ "Elections". 15 November 2023.
121. ^ "UNESCO House – visit us | UNESCO". unesco.org. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
122. ^ "UNESCO garden". Architectuul. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
123. ^ Furuyama, Masao. "Ando (Basic Art Series)". taschen.com. pp. 71–
72. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
124. ^ "List of All UNESCO Field Offices by Region with Descriptions of Member State
Coverage". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019.
125. ^ "City of Quito – UNESCO World Heritage". UNESCO. Archived from the original
on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
126. ^ "UNESCO Office in Brasilia | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization". unesco.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24
September 2015.
127. ^ "Oficina de la UNESCO en Quito | Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la
Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura". unesco.org. Archived from the original on 25 September
2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
128. ^ Grahm, S. E. (April 2006). "The (Real)politiks of Culture: U.S. Cultural Diplomacy
in UNESCO, 1946–1954". Diplomatic History. 30 (2): 231–51. doi:10.1111/j.1467-
7709.2006.00548.x. hdl:1885/20736.
129. ^ "UNESCO asks states considering withdrawal to 'reconsider their position'", UN
Chronicle, January 1986, archived from the original on 9 February 2022, retrieved 2
April 2018
130. ^ "Singapore to withdraw from UNESCO", The Telegraph, 28 December
1984, archived from the original on 7 September 2015, retrieved 20 June 2015
131. ^ "UNESCO", Encyclopædia Britannica, 14 February 2018, archived from the
original on 2 April 2018, retrieved 2 April 2018
132. ^ "How China uses UNESCO to rewrite history". The Economist. 23 September
2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 22 September 2023. To bolster the idea of a Han-centric
identity, the party seeks to dilute the contributions of minority groups in UNESCO claims. For
example, documents filed with the organisation state that Tibet's Potala Palace, the winter
home of Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, exhibits the skills of many ethnic groups, not just
Tibetans. The government uses "radical selectivity" in choosing which places, people and
practices to emphasise, says Rachel Harris of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
part of the University of London.
133. ^ Kashgarian, Asim (16 February 2023). "UNESCO Accused of Complicity in China's
Treatment of Uyghur Heritage". Voice of America. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
134. ^ Kachmar, Oleh (24 September 2020). "Uyghur Heritage and the Charge of Cultural
Genocide in Xinjiang". New Lines Institute. Fairfax University of America. Retrieved 22
September 2023.
135. ^ "Hebron clashes over Israel's West Bank heritage list". BBC News. 26 February
2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
136. ^ "Executive Board adopts five decisions concerning UNESCO's work in the
occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories". UNESCO. 21 October 2010. Archived from the
original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
137. ^ "The Two Palestinian sites of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Al-
Khalil/Hebron and the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque/Rachel's Tomb in
Bethlehem" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 1
November 2011.
138. ^ Hillel Fendel (1 November 2010). "UNESCO Erases Israeli Protests from Rachel's
Tomb Protocol". Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 3
November 2010.
139. ^ Maayana Miskin (29 October 2010). "UN Org.: Rachel's Tomb is a Mosque". Arutz
Sheva. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
140. ^ "Ayalon: Israel will no longer cooperate with UNESCO". The Jerusalem Post. 3
November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 3
November 2010.
141. ^ Shalom, Rabbi (5 November 2010). "Cooperation with UNESCO only partially
suspended". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 5 January 2012.
Retrieved 8 August 2011.
142. ^ Eichner, Itamar (20 June 1995). "UNESCO censures Israel over Mughrabi Bridge
– Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
Retrieved 8 August 2011.
143. ^ Berman, Lazar (17 January 2014). "UNESCO cancels event on Jewish ties to
Land of Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014.
Retrieved 21 January 2014.
144. ^ Ahren, Raphael (21 January 2014). "Author of UNESCO's nixed Israel exhibit
decries 'appalling betrayal'". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 January
2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
145. ^ Ahren, Raphael (1 January 2019). "69 years after joining, Israel formally leaves
UNESCO; so, too, does the US". The Times of Israel.
146. ^ Jump up to:a b "UNESCO adopts anti-Israel resolution on al-Aqsa Mosque". Al
Jazeera. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
147. ^ "Commission report" (PDF). UNESCO Digital Library. Archived (PDF) from the
original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
148. ^ Eichner, Itamar (13 October 2016). "UNESCO fails to acknowledge Jewish ties to
Temple Mount". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 19
October 2016.
149. ^ "Netanyahu leads angry denunciations of 'absurd' UNESCO decision". The Times
of Israel. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
150. ^ "UNESCO chief 'received death threats' for opposing Jerusalem motion". The
Times of Israel. 17 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016.
Retrieved 27 October 2016.
151. ^ "Statement by the Director-General of UNESCO on the Old City of Jerusalem and
its Walls on the occasion of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO
in Istanbul – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization". Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
152. ^ "UNESCO Director Criticizes Resolution: Temple Mount Sacred to Both Jews,
Muslims". Haaretz. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016.
Retrieved 14 October 2016.
153. ^ Jump up to:a b "Czech MPs slam 'hateful' UNESCO Jerusalem resolution". The
Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
154. ^ "UNESCO approves new Jerusalem resolution". Al Jazeera. Archived from the
original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
155. ^ Beaumont, Peter (26 October 2016). "Unesco adopts controversial resolution on
Jerusalem holy sites". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016.
Retrieved 27 October 2016.
156. ^ "UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem holy sites draws criticism from U.S.,
Israel". CBC/Radio-Canada. 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 November
2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
157. ^ Jump up to:a b "The United States Withdraws From UNESCO". U.S. Department of
State. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
158. ^ Harris, Gardiner; Erlangeroct, Steven (12 October 2017). "U.S. Will Withdraw
From Unesco, Citing Its 'Anti-Israel Bias'". The New York Times. Archived from the original
on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
159. ^ "Unesco cuts funding for Palestinian youth magazine over Hitler praise". The Daily
Telegraph. London. 23 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012.
Retrieved 12 January 2012.
160. ^ "UNESCO Chair in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences (964),
established in 2012 at The Islamic University of Gaza (Palestine)". UNESCO. Archived from
the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
161. ^ The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza
Conflict Archived 13 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine By Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner
and Philip Weiss (2011). Google Books.
162. ^ "Israel shocked by UNESCO Chair at Gaza Islamic University" (Press release).
Israel ministry of foreign affairs. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
Retrieved 15 July 2012.
 163. ^ Higgins, Michael (12 July 2012). "UNESCO establishes chair at Gaza university
accused of housing Hamas bomb labs". National Post. Archived from the original on 30
January 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
164. ^ Shaked, Ronny (6 February 2007). "Fatah: Shalit was held at Gaza Islamic
University". Ynetnews. Yedioth Ahronot. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012.
Retrieved 15 July 2012.
165. ^ Cambanis, Thanassis (28 February 2010). "Hamas University". The Boston
Globe. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
166. ^ Ravid, Barak (12 July 2012). "Israel furious at UNESCO decision to back science
chair at Islamic University of Gaza". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
Retrieved 15 July 2012.
167. ^ Yaakov, Yifa (14 July 2012). "B'nai Brith slams UNESCO affiliation with Gaza
University". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 15
July 2012.
168. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Japan furious at UNESCO listing Nanjing
Massacre documents – Asia – DW.COM – 19.10.2015". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the
original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
169. ^ "Japan halts Unesco funding following Nanjing massacre row". The Guardian.
Agence France-Presse. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016.
Retrieved 30 October 2016.
170. ^ Jump up to:a b "UNESCO Membership: Issues for Congress". Congressional
Research Service reports. 20 November 2003. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019.
Retrieved 28 March 2019.
171. ^ Jump up to:a b "United States & UNESCO, Part 1". Starting from 05:08. C-
SPAN. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
172. ^ "U.S. and Israel officially withdraw from UNESCO". PBS. 1 January 2019.
Retrieved 28 August 2022.
173. ^ Rosenberg, Eli; Morello, Carol (12 October 2017). "U.S. withdraws from UNESCO,
the U.N.'s cultural organization, citing anti-Israel bias". The Washington Post. Archived from
the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
174. ^ Irish, John (13 October 2017). "U.S., Israel quit UNESCO over alleged
bias". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
175. ^ "Turkish writer quits UNESCO to protest damage to heritage, rights
abuse Archived 9 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine". Reuters. 26 May 2016.
176. ^ Vincent Noice, "Unesco, stop citing 'bogus' $10bn figure, art trade pleads", The Art
Newspaper, 12 November 2020 [2] Archived 15 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
177. ^ Nancy Kenney, "Unesco under fire for using Met objects in anti-trafficking
campaign", The Art Newspaper, 13 November 2020 [3] Archived 17 November 2020 at
the Wayback Machine
178. ^ "UNESDOC Database – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization". unesco.org. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 8
December 2015.
179. ^ "Information Processing Tools". Unesco. Archived from the original on 8 January
2015.
180. ^ "OpenIDAMS". Unesco. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.

Further reading[edit]
 Finnemore, Martha. 1993. "International Organizations as Teachers of Norms: The
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cutural [sic] Organization and Science
Policy." International Organization Vol. 47, No. 4 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 565–597
External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to UNESCO.

Meta has related information at: WikiProject UNESCO

 Official website

show
v

e
United Nations

show

e
United Nations Economic and Social Council

show

e
United Nations Charter

show

e
Global governance and identity

show

e
Humanitarian partners of the European Commission

show

Authority control databases

Categories:

 UNESCO
 Organizations established in 1945
 Conservation and restoration organizations
 Heritage organizations
 International cultural organizations
 International educational organizations
 International scientific organizations
 International organizations based in France
 Organizations based in Paris
 United Nations Development Group
 United Nations specialized agencies
 France and the United Nations
 1945 establishments in France
 Peace organizations
 This page was last edited on 12 May 2024, at 14:41 (UTC).
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Code of Conduct

 Developers

 Statistics

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view

 Toggle limited content width