Clinton calls UNESCO vote on Palestine 'inexplicable'

The Palestinians were hoping to have the Church of the
Nativity added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites
© AFP/File Hazem Bader

AFP

SANTO DOMINGO (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called a decision by UNESCO’s executive committee to back Palestine’s bid to become a full state member of the cultural body “inexplicable.”

Clinton, speaking to reporters during a trip to the Dominican Republic, also called the move “confusing,” as the UN Security Council weighs a request from the Palestinians for full UN membership — which the United States opposes.

“I found quite confusing and somehow inexplicable that you would have organs of the United Nations making decisions about statehood or statehood status while the issue has been presented to the United Nations,” Clinton said.
“I think this is a very odd procedure indeed,” she said.

“The decision about status must be made in the United Nations and not in auxiliary groups that are subsidiary to the United Nations.”

Palestine’s Arab allies braved intense US and French diplomatic pressure to bring the motion before the UNESCO executive committee’s member states, which passed it by 40 votes in favor to four against, with 14 abstentions.

The Palestinian bid will now be submitted to the UNESCO general assembly at the end of the month for final approval.

The United States urged all delegates to vote “no” at the general assembly, with its ambassador to the Paris-based body, David Killion, saying that “granting the Palestinians full membership now in a specialized agency such as UNESCO is premature”.

The United States wields a veto on the Security Council, and has said it will veto any statehood bid before the Palestinians come to an agreement with US ally Israel over their longstanding territorial standoff.

“It is still our hope and our strong recommendation that we take this to the appropriate forum which is the negotiating table,” Clinton said.