U.S. Return To UNESCO Upgraded To `Definite Possibility'

Douglas Bennet, the Clinton administration's newly confirmed assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, says that after nearly a decade of severed ties between the United States and the United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), renewal of the relationship is now "definitely a possibility." Bennet's assessment comes at a time of increasing activity on the part of those strongly favoring renewed U.S. involvement in UNESCO. Recently, discussions on the subject among congressional leaders, Clinton administration officials, professional societies, and scientists have gained in frequency, as has the circulation of petitions supporting a U.S. return to the UNESCO fold. Many scientists support rejoining UNESCO because, among other activities, the organization coordinates six global communication networks and programs such as the International Commission of Scientific Unions. For the past six weeks, both the State Department and the National Security Council have been involved in an interagency review concerning the prospects of such a move by the U.S. The review process, which included a June 1 meeting with more than 50 nongovernmental organizations interested in U.S. reentry, is being led by the State Department's Bureau of International Organization Affairs, which plans to issue a report within coming weeks upon which a recommendation to President Clinton will be based. Progress Noted Last year, a report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that since the election of Spanish biochemist Federico Mayor as director-general in 1987, important controls on UNESCO's internal management, methods of personnel appraisal, and budget growth have been implemented. Observers feel that such progress could go a long way in healing a decade-long rift. The Reagan administration withdrew all U.S. funding and personnel for UNESCO in 1984 over questions of the agency's alleged extraneous politicization and hostility toward Western ideals, as well as internal management and budgetary problems. A year later, Great Britain also left the organization (Ron Kaufman, The Scientist, April 19, 1993, page 3). "What we're trying to do now is make the determination, on principle, as to whether it's important and valid for the United States to be a member," says Bennet. Bennet, who was sworn into office on May 26, told The Scientist that the GAO report moves questions about the agency's efficiency and management "off the table." He says his office's current inquiry involves determining the concrete scientific, educational, and cultural benefits to Americans that would result from reentry. "I would say, in general, I think we will go back if we feel UNESCO serves important American objectives," he says. An example of an issue that might determine U.S. reentry is the value of UNESCO in serving as a focal point for networking of scientists from around the world. On one hand, says the State Department official, being part of an organization that facilitated such communication--"before faxes and modems"--may have been more important before than it is today, when sophisticated communications devices are ubiquitous. "On the other hand," says Bennet, "maybe it's precisely in this new communications environment that the impact of network building by UNESCO might be much greater than in the past. "One can imagine some very exciting possibilities. So that's the kind of thing we're looking at." Other Actions Prominent individuals and societies in the scientific establishment have joined forces with many members of Congress to push forward an agenda advocating reentry. On May 20, Rep. Esteban Torres (D-Calif.) officially introduced House Concurrent Resolution 103, which calls for U.S. reentry into UNESCO before the end of the year. The resolution, if passed, also asks that the president present a progress report to Congress by September 30. Torres was joined by fellow California Democratic Reps. Howard Berman, George Brown, Tom Lantos, and George Miller, as well as Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Leach in support of the resolution. Along with the congressional resolution, statements supporting UNESCO reentry from many non- governmental groups such as the American Council on Education, the National Education Association, and the American Chemical Society have also been sent to the president. The American Physical Society, in a public statement from director Irving Lerch, notes that UNESCO is helpful in establishing ties with scientists in developing countries and in the successor states of the former Soviet Union and in East- Central Europe. Clinton was also sent a statement of support for rejoining UNESCO that highlighted the signatures of 37 Nobel laureates. The petition was organized within the past year by physicist Murray Gell-Mann, a 1969 Nobel Prize winner currently researching the concepts of simplicity and complexity at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. "I think the United States and Great Britain had some legitimate objections to a number of the UNESCO procedures, but as I understand it, many of those have been corrected," says Gell- Mann. "The point about a world organization is that it should be universal. So if it no longer has unacceptable practices, we should rejoin it. "It's absurd for us to be outside ... and I think the present administration will probably go for it." According to many UNESCO-watchers, the largest stumbling block for U.S. reentry continues to be the matter of funding the move. The U.S. is expected to contribute about $55 million a year, although some sources put the number as high as $65 million. UNESCO suffered significant financial problems during the 1980s after the U.S. and U.K. withdrew their support. However, according to the Reuters news service, UNESCO now has a surplus of $30 million, although only 23 of 171 member countries had paid in full and 117 members had paid nothing. The State Department's Bennet says finding room in the department's budget for UNESCO will be a "major problem in the short term." He says the 1993 budget is half over and the 1994 budget is already locked down. Philip Hemily, a former UNESCO consultant and now a staffer at the National Academy of Sciences, agrees that, in spite of the good will toward the organization, finding the money will be difficult. "There's none of the flak that we got two or three years ago from conservatives and others who hadn't kept up to date on the changes," says Hemily. "Right now, there's a lot of movement, a lot of discussion, and it's all generally positive. When the final decision is made, I don't think it will be a negative one. The money issue will be the real challenge."

U.S. Return To UNESCO Upgraded To `Definite Possibility'

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