Palestine given UNESCO membership

POLITICS:

Palestine given UNESCO membership

AM Middle East correspondent Anne Barker (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Updated November 01, 2011 11:06:22

The United Nations' top cultural body UNESCO has voted to grant full membership to the Palestinians.

The move could boost the chances of recognition for a Palestinian state at the wider UN and will give Palestinians the right to nominate ancient cultural sites for inclusion on the world heritage register.

But the vote in Paris has angered Israel and the United States and both countries consider the peace process is now more in danger than ever.

The motion, which specifically used the name 'Palestine', was passed by a substantial majority.

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But the US has vowed to veto the bid for full UN membership and has announced it will stop financial contributions to UNESCO.

"We were to have made a $US60 million payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

The US funding makes up 22 per cent of UNESCO's budget.

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, says the UNESCO vote will severely damage the prospects of Middle East peace negotiations resuming.

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This decision will doubtless have an impact both on the archaeology of the region and on UNESCO itself, but exactly how remains to be seen.