I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1974

Directing the President to develop a strategy to bring the United States

back into full and active participation in the United Nations Educational,

Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 27, 1999

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. LEACH, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. BERMAN, Mr.

ABERCROMBIE, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

Directing the President to develop a strategy to bring the

United States back into full and active participation in

the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

Organization.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—

5 (1) the United Nations Educational, Scientific,

6 and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was created

7 in 1946 as an integral part of the United Nations
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1 system, designed to promote international coopera2 tion and exchanges in the fields of education,

3 science, culture, and communication with the larger

4 purpose of constructing ‘‘the defenses of peace’’

5 against intolerance and incitements to war;

6 (2) in 1984 the United States withdrew from

7 membership in UNESCO over serious questions of

8 internal management and political polarization;

9 (3) since the United States withdrew from the

10 organization, UNESCO has elected new leadership,

11 instituted tightened financial controls and strategic

12 planning, cut budget and staff, restored recognition

13 of intellectual property rights, and returned to sup14 port for the principle of an unfettered, independent

15 international press, thus addressing the criticisms

16 which formed the basis for the United States’ with17 drawal from membership in the organization;

18 (4) in 1993 the General Accounting Office,

19 after conducting an extensive review of UNESCO’s

20 progress in implementing changes directed at solving

21 the problems that were cited by the United States

22 in its decision to withdraw from the organization in

23 1984, concluded that the organization’s member

24 states, the Director General of UNESCO, managers,

25 and employee associations have demonstrated a com-
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1 mitment to management reform through their ac2 tions;

3 (5) United States participation in UNESCO

4 programs in education, science, culture, and commu5 nication offers a man for advancing the foreign pol6 icy interests of the United States through the pro7 motion of democracy and the development of civil so8 cieties, sustainable development, and the peaceful

9 resolution of conflict;

10 (6) the UNESCO charter states that ‘‘since

11 wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds

12 of men that the defenses of peace must be con13 structed.’’ If there is any hope of diminishing intol14 erance and hostility among nations it must come

15 through a greater international commitment to edu16 cation and mutual understanding which UNESCO

17 nurtures;

18 (7) security in the twenty-first century will be

19 more dependent upon education and cultural ad20 vancement than upon the acquisition of increasingly

21 costly and sophisticated arsenals of war; hence, it is

22 imperative to build up international organizations

23 such as UNESCO which advance international un24 derstanding and techniques of conflict resolution.
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1 SEC. 2. ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY THE PRESIDENT.

2 The President shall—

3 (1) develop a strategy to bring the United

4 States back into active and full membership in the

5 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

6 Organization (UNESCO) as soon as practicable;

7 (2) direct the Secretary of State to consult with

8 government agencies, nongovernmental organiza9 tions, and other interested parties that had substan10 tial involvement with the work of UNESCO before

11 the withdrawal of the United States in order to for12 mulate goals the United States should pursue

13 through its participation in UNESCO and to reex14 amine the framework established in law for the par15 ticipation of the American nongovernmental sector

16 in UNESCO activities;

17 (3) direct the Secretary of State to reconstitute

18 the United States National Commission for

19 UNESCO; and

20 (4) consult with other governments on prospects

21 for further reform of UNESCO’s policy bodies and

22 governance, particularly with an eye to strength23 ening in all member states the role of independent,

24 nongovernmental, intellectual sectors in agency pro25 grams and governance.
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1 SEC. 3. REPORT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

2 (a) Six months after the enactment of this legislation,

3 the Department of State shall deliver a report in writing

4 to the Congress detailing the actions taken by the Presi5 dent pursuant to section 2 of this act. This report shall

6 be made to the Committee on International Relations of

7 the House of Representatives and to the Committee on

8 Foreign Relations of the Senate.

9 (b) After the initial report, the Department of State

10 shall deliver a report in writing annually to the Congress

11 until the United States again becomes a fully participating

12 member of UNESCO.

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