UNESCO’s Program Commission voted today 73-6 with 30 abstentions to condemn Israel for its policies in the occupied territories, according to reports received here from Nairobi, Kenya. The resolution must still be adopted by the plenary session of the UNESCO general conference, but the report from Nairobi is that it is unlikely that there will be any change in the vote.
The United States voted against the resolution One member of the American delegation. Rep. Albert Quie (D.Minn.) was quoted as saying it would now be “much more difficult” to persuade Congress to vote to pay the $38 million the U.S. owes for 1975-76. The U.S. voted not to pay its dues to UNESCO after Israel was expelled two years ago, but was expected to reverse the decision after the general conference in Nairobi agreed to allow each regional group to select its own members. The European region is expected to admit Israel shortly.
The resolution said that UNESCO was “condemning” Israel’s policies “as contrary to human rights and to fundamental liberties all violations resulting from the Israeli occupation, of the rights of the Palestinians living in all the occupied Arab territories to national education and cultural life…particularly by a systematic policy of cultural assimilation.”
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