Meguro UNESCO Short News
(Continued from front page)
The United States and UNESCO
Why did the United States withdraw from UNESCO? Some official documents
of the United States explain the reasons as follows:
“For the past few years we have expressed our concern that UNESCO’s political
and ideological emphasis and its budgetary and managerial tendency have
harmed the efficiency of the organization. Such tendency, we must say,
is far removed from the original principles of its Charter. We also feel
that the organization has been serving the political goals of member nations
rather than performing its international mission.” (Main purport of the
Notification of US Withdrawal from UNESCO / Dec. 12, 1984)
“(1) The decision to withdraw from UNESCO has been made by President Reagan
on the recommendation of the Secretary of State. (2) The recommendation
is based on the following observations: UNESCO has extraneously politicized
virtually every subject it deals with, has exhibited hostility toward the
basic institutions of a free society, especially a free market and a free
press, and has demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion. (3) The Bureau
of International Organization Affairs has undertaken “policy reviewing”
on US - UNESCO relations, and we have come to the conclusion that continued
US membership in UNESCO will not benefit the country.”
(Main purport of the statements made by US State Department / Dec. 29,
1984)
◎ Comment on the US State Department’s “Statement (2)“ ![](187-1amer-frg.jpg)
Three reasons are given here. It is generally believed that politicization
concerned itself with North-South problems, and that the United States,
irritated at an increasingly powerful voice of African countries backed
by the (former) Soviet Union, detested the typical “UNESCO politician”,
the then director-general, Amadou Mahtar M’Bow. The second was the issue
of a “New World Information and Communication Order” (NWICO). Even now
an overwhelming majority of news is sent out to the world with the one-sided
view of the West, yet the developing countries’ wish to have a voice has
assumed a visible shape since the 1974 General Conference. The proposal
of NWICO, partly due to strong opposition from the United States and other
western countries, did not ripen into a concrete resolution. The third
reason was UNESCO’s careless management. The United States, immediately
after the withdrawal, dispatched its “auditing commission” who performed
a thorough audit, yet they did not find any wrongdoing.
◎ US Attitude after the Withdrawal
The United States has an observer mission at UNESCO even after the withdrawal,
and contributes necessary funding for UNESCO programs that the country
is particularly interested in, such as World Heritage Preservation, Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission, Man and the Biosphere Program, etc. However,
following the cessation of financial contributions from the US to the UNESCO
Secretariat (25 percent at the time of its withdrawal), Japan’s share
has been increased.
◎ “Japan Should Withdraw, Too!”
After the US withdrawal from UNESCO some people suggested that Japan should
withdraw, too. At the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, we are told,
a commission member representing nongovernmental UNESCO associations heard
about this suggestion, and cooperating with other commission members, succeeded
in keeping the country in UNESCO -- a story that we, who are engaged in
nongovernmental activities of UNESCO, should keep in mind.
◎ Our Wish
We hope that the United States will rejoin UNESCO and contribute to world
peace. We hope that with the US government returning to UNESCO, nongovernmental
UNESCO activities in the United States, supported by the government and
administrative organs, will become more and more active. We would like
many people to share this wish and, joining hands, develop it into a big
wish.
Japanese Classes have just begun: Spring Semester of 2002
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Date : A. Morning Course April 9 to July18, every Tuesday & Thursday,
10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
B. Saturday Course April 13 to July13, every Saturday, 10:00
a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
C. Evening Course April 9 to July16, every Tuesday, 6: 30p.m.
to 8:15 p.m
Place : Moriya Kyoiku Kaikan
Level : Beginner to Advanced, Kanji classes also available
Eligibility : As a principle, the courses are opened for foreign residents
16 and over, who live or go to school/college or
office in Meguro-ku and who are not comfortable with using Japanese.
Lecturer : member in charge of Japanese education of Meguro UNESCO Association
Organizer : Meguro UNESCO Association
Co-organizer : Meguro Board of Education
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