The US has withdrawn from UNESCO, the UN organization for the protection of cultural heritage, stating that continuing its participation does not serve US national interests, France 24 reported. 

"UNESCO promotes divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an excessive focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development that is at odds with our 'America First' foreign policy," State Department spokeswoman Tami Bruce said.

White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the New York Post that the withdrawal was due to UNESCO's support for "divisive cultural and social causes that are completely at odds with the sensible policies Americans voted for in November."

The move, which will take effect at the end of December 2026, is a blow to the Paris-based agency, founded after World War II to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said the US decision was regrettable but "expected."

President Donald Trump had already withdrawn from UNESCO during his first term, in addition to leaving the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, the global climate change agreement, and the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. 

Joe Biden reversed these decisions after taking office in 2021, returning the US to UNESCO, the WHO, and the climate agreement.

With Trump's return to the White House, the US is once again withdrawing from these global organizations.

UNESCO is best known for designating World Heritage Sites, including the Grand Canyon in the US and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

The US initially joined UNESCO when it was founded in 1945, but withdrew for the first time in 1984 in protest against alleged financial mismanagement and perceived anti-American bias, returning nearly 20 years later in 2003 under President George W. Bush.

UNESCO's full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The United States provides about 8% of UNESCO's total budget, down from about 20% when Trump first withdrew the country from the agency. | BGNES