As US and Israel bow out of UNESCO, its leadership vote comes down to two

French candidate vies with frontrunner Qatari delegate to head UN cultural organization; winner to be chosen Friday evening

Former Qatari culture minister and Qatar's candidate for the nomination of Unesco's new director general, Hamad bin Abdoulaziz Al-Kawari, addresses the media at the Unesco headquarters in Paris on October 13, 2017. (AFP/Thomas Samson)
Former Qatari culture minister and Qatar's candidate for the nomination of Unesco's new director general, Hamad bin Abdoulaziz Al-Kawari, addresses the media at the Unesco headquarters in Paris on October 13, 2017. (AFP/Thomas Samson)

PARIS, France (AFP) — Two candidates — one Qatari and one French — vied to become the new head of the UN’s embattled culture and education agency on Friday, a day after the US quit the body, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.

The politically charged campaign to succeed UNESCO’s outgoing chief Irina Bokova was overshadowed by Washington’s announcement Thursday that it planned to withdraw from the body after years of tensions over decisions seen as critical of Israel.

Israel itself announced shortly afterwards that it would follow suit.

Arab states believe the job of director-general of the 195-member organization should go to one of them for the first time, but regional tensions have complicated the task.

The last round of the very political election was being held Friday night in Paris, and pitted Qatari representative Hamad bin Abdoulaziz Al-Kawari against France’s Audrey Azoulay.

In an intermediate vote on Friday afternoon, the 58 members of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization preferred the French candidate to the Egyptian Moushira Khattab, by 31 votes to 25 (two blank votes), to face Al-Kawari in the final round of voting.

In the previous round of voting on Thursday evening, French ex-culture minister Azoulay and Egyptian rights activist Khattab won 18 votes each, behind the former Qatari culture minister on 22 votes.

Arab states have been divided between backers of oil-rich Qatar and its poorer rival Egypt, which is part of a Saudi-led coalition that has been blockading Qatar since June over its alleged support for radical Islamists and ties to Iran.

Arab divisions

In the face of Arab divisions, France has presented Azoulay as a consensus figure who could mend fences within the organization and sooth tensions caused by recent resolutions against Israel.

“Now more than ever UNESCO needs a project… which restores confidence and overcomes political divisions,” the foreign ministry said in a statement reacting to the US pullout.

Audrey Azoulay in the French Senate on February 12 2016 (Screen capture YouTube/French Senate)

Lebanon’s candidate Vera El-Khoury, who bowed out at an earlier stage in the voting, told AFP that the power game at play in the race had shown UNESCO members “did not give a damn” about the candidates’ programs.

Qatar has lobbied intensely for the post — and has increased its financial contribution to support UNESCO in recent years — but its candidate has been dogged by old allegations of anti-Semitism.

He has notably been accused by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats anti-Semitism, of remaining silent over the presence of anti-Semitic books at a fair in Doha when he was culture minister.

This is not the first time the US — a founding member — has walked out on the 195-member UNESCO, best known for producing a list of World Heritage sites including tourist favorites such as the Grand Canyon or Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.

Egyptian candidate to head UNESCO, Moushira Khattab (CC BY Mahmoud Khattab, Wikimedia Commons)

The US decision, which is to take effect on December 31, 2018, underlined America’s drift away from international institutions under President Donald Trump.

The agency’s outgoing head, Bulgaria’s Irina Bokova, told French radio that UNESCO’s “universal mission was in jeopardy.”

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the decision to leave reflected “US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation, and continuing anti-Israel bias.”

Ex-president Ronald Reagan first pulled the US out in 1984 over alleged financial mismanagement and claims of anti-US bias in some of its policies.

Washington returned to the fold in 2002, seeing UNESCO as a vehicle for combatting extremism in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But in 2011 relations soured again after UNESCO admitted Palestine as a full member, prompting the US to cut its funding to the organization, leaving a gaping hole in its finances.

The rift continued to fester in recent years, with the organization becoming the scene of repeated diplomatic flare-ups after efforts led by Arab countries to pass resolutions critical of Israel that have denied Jewish historical ties to Jerusalem, Hebron.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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