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UNESCO has published some facts and figures on the Organization's reforms. The graph above is from that publication. It shows the budget for UNESCO by biennium (the 36th biennium is 2012 and 2013). The graph shows the considerable reduction in the current biennium, in part due to the United States withholding its assessed contributions to UNESCO. The Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom did a multilateral aid review in 2011. It is currently updating that review. Here is a page with the 2011 judgments for UNESCO . UNESCO has provided an update on its operations for the 2013 exercise . Similarly, the Australian AID organization (AusAID) developed scorecards for multilateral organizations in 2012. Here is the scorecard for UNESCO . Here are UNESCO's comments on the scorecard .

February 21, 2012 Theme 2013: Books for mother tongue education International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) in November 1999 ( 30C/62 ). More.....

The United States is withholding funds from UNESCO since the Organization's General Conference voted to allow Palestine membership.  It is doing so because of provisions of the Foreign Relations and Intercourse Authorization passed in 1990 and 1994. In order to restore funding The authorization law will have to be changed either to eliminate the provisions or to allow the President to waive them if he finds doing so to be in the national interest. In the latter case, the president would have to issue a waiver in the specific case of UNESCO. Funds would have to be included for UNESCO in the foreign affairs appropriations. Last year the Obama administration requested the waiver authority and it has also requested the appropriation of funds for UNESCO. The authorization legislation defines policy -- what the program is to do. It is the province of: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. The appropriations legislation is...

Here are a couple of articles relating to the last post: " Leading Senator Calls for Change in Self-Defeating US Policy on UNESCO ", UN Dispatch , February 8, 2013 " Obama’s budget’s surprise: Restore UNESCO funding! " The Washington Post , 02/16/2012 Recall that the executive branch makes a budget request, but it is the Congress that actually appropriates funds. The House of Representatives has a major role, and the Obama administration may face an uphill battle getting funding for UNESCO. Last year it also requested funding for UNESCO, and it was not appropriated. In terms of foreign policy, I agree with Senator Leahy that U.S. funding for UNESCO enables it to do more to achieve our objectives than would an alternative use of the funds. I don't think that restoration of funding to UNESCO would significantly damage our relations with Israel, and it might help a little with opinion about the USA in the Arab and Islamic worlds. In terms of domestic policy, the lo...

I just received an email with the following: Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Rescue and Reconstruction of Cultural Antiquities in Timbuktu  United States Senate Floor February 7, 2013  Mr. LEAHY.  Mr. President, there was a lot of attention recently on the French military’s operation to repel Islamic extremists and Tuareg nationalist rebels who had terrorized the local population of northern Mali, including in the ancient city of Timbuktu.  That operation was widely welcomed by local Malian citizens and the international community.  Many of the rebels are believed to be hiding out among the local population until the French soldiers leave, so whether they are ultimately vanquished remains to be seen.  It will depend in large measure on the longer term capability of a multinational force of African troops supported by the United States and others. Besides terrorizing, torturing, mutilating, and slaughtering innocent people, the rebels destroyed anc...