Nikki Haley slams UNESCO as 'corrupt and politically biased' as US, Israel officially quit UN agency
The United States and Israel have officially quit UNESCO.
This is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The two countries pulled out of UNESCO at the stroke of midnight as the New Year came in.
It is the second time for the U.S. to pull out of UNESCO.
The first time was in 1984, when it thought the agency was favoring the old Soviet Union too much.
The U.S. then rejoined in 2003. The current withdrawal started because both nations were worried that UNESCO was biased against Israel.
Nikki Haley, the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said: "UNESCO is among the most corrupt and politically biased UN agencies. Today, the U.S. withdrawal from this cesspool became official."
UNESCO was co-founded by the U.S. after World War II.
It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences and culture.
The agency is best known for its World Heritage program, which protects cultural sites and traditions around the world.
UNESCO also works to improve education for girls, promote understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust, and defend freedom of the press.
The U.S. said it intends to follow UNESCO as a non-member "observer state".
The Israeli envoy to the United Nations Danny Danon said his country, "will not be a member of an organization whose goal is to deliberately act against us".
Article Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1901/190104-unesco.html
Image Source: <p><img alt="FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 file photo,
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. stroke / noun : a hitting of or upon anything.
2. bias / verb : to cause to hold or exhibit a particular bias; to influence, especially unfairly:
3. corrupt / adjective : guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked:
4. cesspool / noun : any filthy receptacle or place
5. Heritage / noun : something that is handed down from the past, as a tradition:
6. envoy / noun : any accredited messenger or representative.
7. deliberate / adjective : carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional:
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- How many times has the USA now pulled out of UNESCO?
- Which country did the USA say UNESCO favored in 1984?
- When was UNESCO founded?
- What program is UNESCO best known for?
- Who does UNESCO work to improve the education for?
- What does UNESCO work to defend?