The US government just announced it will withdraw from UNESCO (again) effective December 31, 2026, stating that “[c]ontinued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.”
UNESCO’S statement in response was a diplomatic shrug, underlining that they were prepared anyway for such an eventuality. After two previous similar actions by the United States, the Agency had worked to decrease reliance on US funding and increase contributions from elsewhere. One journalist thinks that the withdrawal will be a blow to UNESCO’s work, even while acknowledging UNESCO’s response.
Most know UNESCO as a body that preserves ancient temples and declares World Heritage Sites. However, the agency actively works to protect freedom of expression, counter hate speech, disinformation and misinformation, and promote ethical AI governance.
UNESCO has survived without US funding before. The United States left in 1984 and came back, left again in 2017 and then rejoined in 2023. But each withdrawal no doubt chips away at the Agency’s stability.
According to UNESCO’s statement, the US contributes only 8% of its budget. Therefore, leaving now is not catastrophic from a financial standpoint, but it is not nothing. Some of UNESCO’s programs may slow down if member States and philanthropies do not fill the void.
Politically, however, the US exit will create a vacuum to be filled by other actors, some whose ideas about rights and ethics may be at loggerheads with the international consensus.
If you are worried about algorithms amplifying hate speech, AI promoting misogyny, or governments weaponizing cybercrime laws to clamp down on democratic dissent, you should care about what happens to UNESCO. It is one of the few spaces where global standards on these issues are being set. It’s clear that global civil society must intensify actions to insure gains in these areas of rights.
The United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO is a pattern. This isn’t the first breakup, and it likely won’t be the last. The question is, who steps up next?
Photo: The UNESCO logo on the Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural, the world’s longest mosaic wall, Hanoi, Vietnam. Credit: Claudine Van Massenhove