PARIS — American influence in culture, science and education around the world is facing a high-profile blow Friday as the U.S. is stripped of its voting rights at the world's cultural agency, UNESCO. And it would cost the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars to win this voice back.
The U.S. hasn't paid its dues to the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in three years, in protest over the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011. The move was prompted by U.S. laws that force an automatic funding freeze on any agency that has Palestine as a member.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/11/07/world/europe/ap-unesco-us.html?ref=aponline