“Anomaly.” That was the word Prime Minister Freundel Stuart used recently at the United Nations in New York to describe the “protracted conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians”.
Stuart’s characterization of the impasse wasn’t original thinking. For countries around the world and their leaders have been calling for decades for an end to the anomaly, by Israel ending its settlement construction on Palestinian lands and recognizing the country as an independent state, and the West Bank and Gaza accepting that Israel has a right to exist in peace.
On Monday, UNESCO, the world body’s educational, scientific and cultural specialized agency based in Paris, took a giant step towards the resolution of the long-running crisis when it admitted the Palestinians into its fold.
Chances are Stuart knew before he spoke in September that UNESCO membership for Palestine was a done deal. But, like other Caricom leaders, he avoided it like the plague for two key reasons. One: Washington would be forced by US law to withhold its annual US$80 million contribution to the agency’s budget. Two: Israel would announce an expansion of its construction of Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands. Now what?
UNESCO membership doesn’t mean Palestine is joining the UN itself any time soon. That’s an unresolved issue which must be settled by the Security Council. The UNESCO vote is but a symbolic gesture that told the world what it already knew: the United Nations is ready to accept Palestine as a sovereign state.
Next is the impact of the US response. Washington provides 22 per cent of UNESCO’s budget and a cut-off in funding would hurt the agency’s ability to function effectively. No, it’s not going to cripple the organization. But yes, it will have to do without a major contribution as happened years ago when President Ronald Reagan took America out of the agency.
That lasted for two decades until the country rejoined under George W. Bush. UNESCO survived then and will do so again.
Washington had to act after the vote because of a United States law that bars any administration from contributing to an agency that has Palestine as a member before the current conflict is resolved.
Would Barbados be affected by the new development?
The answer is yes. UNESCO Secretary General Irina Bokova said that she was worried because of “the potential challenges that may arise to the universality and financial stability of the organization”. For example, as the watchdog agency that assists in the upkeep of World Heritage Sites, UNESCO would have less money to get the job done.
Having recently placed Bridgetown on its list of Heritage Sites, the UN agency would be limited in what it can do for Barbados to help upkeep the designated site.
However, all is not lost. Other countries, including the oil-rich Middle East nations of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait could increase their contributions to UNESCO.
