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Is Palestine’s Admittance To UNESCO Valid?
Sydney lawyer and Middle East specialist David Singer, a foundation member of the International Analysts’ Network, has cast his legal eagle eye over Palestine’s admittance to UNESCO, and finds that there’s a snag. His new article, entitled “Palestine – UNESCO Membership May Be Unconstitutional,” which comes via the antipodean J-Wire service, explains the issue.
‘Palestine’s membership of UNESCO could be under serious legal threat – as the vote approving such admission comes under increasing scrutiny.
The decision to admit Palestine has come at great financial cost to UNESCO and has threatened the abandonment or postponement of many of its worthy and worthwhile programs.
UNESCO notes in a Press Release on 10 November:
“The U.S has withheld its contributions following the admission of Palestine to UNESCO on 31 October. They were required to do so by U.S. laws dating from the 1990s. This leaves UNESCO with an immediate shortfall of US$65m to the end of 2011, and a further gap of 22 percent in its US$653m budget for 2012-2013. Israel has now followed suit and withheld its contribution of US$1.5m (0.3 percent of UNESCO’s budget) for 2012-2013.”
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has now launched an Emergency Multi-Donor Fund to help find the very large shortfall resulting from dues withheld by the United States. It has left an enormous black hole to fill – given the financial crisis enveloping the European Union and its members.
One way of rescuing UNESCO from its current predicament would be to approach the International Court of Justice seeking an Advisory Opinion on the legality of Palestine’s admission to UNESCO.