The US withdrawal from the 58-member UNESCO Executive Board aimed to save money and protest what it sees as the agency’s anti-Israel stance, American magazine Foreign Policy reported earlier Thursday.
The withdrawal occurred before the fourth round of voting for the UNESCO director general position, in which Lebanese national Vera El-Khourey Lacoeuilhe is a candidate.
The Qatari candidate Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari and France’s Audrey Azoulay are neck and neck following the third round of voting, with Egypt’s Moushira Khattab following in third place.
Paris-based UNESCO, which began work in 1946, is known for designating World Heritage sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and the Grand Canyon National Park.