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PALESTINIANS GET UNESCO SEAT AS 107 VOTE IN FAVOUR
ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 31, 2011
YEREVAN
The UN cultural organisation has voted strongly in favour of membership
for the Palestinians - a move opposed by Israel and the United States.
Out of 173 countries voting, 107 were in favour, with 14 opposed and
more than 40 abstentions.
Before the vote, the US said it would stop its funding to Unesco if
the Palestinians' bid was accepted.
The UN Security Council will vote in November on whether Palestine
should become a full UN member state.
Membership of Unesco - perhaps best known for its World Heritage
Sites - may seem a strange step towards statehood, says the BBC's
Jon Donnison, in Ramallah, but Palestinian leaders see it as part
of a broader push to get international recognition and put pressure
on Israel.
The move comes a month after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
asked for Palestine to become a full UN member state.
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on that bid in November.
The United States has said it will use its veto.
But at Unesco, the US does not have veto power.
"We believe this is counterproductive... The only path for the
Palestinians is through direction negotiations," US Undersecretary
of Education Martha Kanter told delegates ahead of the vote.
The Palestinian move has put Unesco in a bind.
Following a US law passed in the 1990s, America says it would cut
funding to any UN body that admitted Palestine as a full member.
That amounts to $70m (£43.7m) a year - over 20% of Unesco's entire
budget.
ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 31, 2011
YEREVAN
The UN cultural organisation has voted strongly in favour of membership
for the Palestinians - a move opposed by Israel and the United States.
Out of 173 countries voting, 107 were in favour, with 14 opposed and
more than 40 abstentions.
Before the vote, the US said it would stop its funding to Unesco if
the Palestinians' bid was accepted.
The UN Security Council will vote in November on whether Palestine
should become a full UN member state.
Membership of Unesco - perhaps best known for its World Heritage
Sites - may seem a strange step towards statehood, says the BBC's
Jon Donnison, in Ramallah, but Palestinian leaders see it as part
of a broader push to get international recognition and put pressure
on Israel.
The move comes a month after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
asked for Palestine to become a full UN member state.
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on that bid in November.
The United States has said it will use its veto.
But at Unesco, the US does not have veto power.
"We believe this is counterproductive... The only path for the
Palestinians is through direction negotiations," US Undersecretary
of Education Martha Kanter told delegates ahead of the vote.
The Palestinian move has put Unesco in a bind.
Following a US law passed in the 1990s, America says it would cut
funding to any UN body that admitted Palestine as a full member.
That amounts to $70m (£43.7m) a year - over 20% of Unesco's entire
budget.