UNESCO in Crisis After US Stopped Funding - Outgoing Representative of Russia

The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) is in crisis due to the decision of Washington to halt funding of the organization, Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russia’s outgoing representative to the organization, told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States, which was responsible for 22 percent of UNESCO's budget, stopped funding after the organization gave Palestine full membership in 2011.

"The organization is in a crisis situation now. The Americans, who have stopped paying money and have not even paid for the past period, brought the organization into a very severe crisis. We had to fire some 400 staff members in four years. It is an enormous number for an international organization. Everyone says that we should reduce administrative expenses, but even such expenses have a limit of reduction," Mitrofanova said.

She added that UNESCO's activities remain as diverse as they used to be before the United States cut off funds, adding that the organization plans to close some programs.

"I think that we should keep the programs, where UNESCO has an absolute priority, for example culture, education, the Oceanographic Commission, several programs related to science and maybe to the struggle against doping in sports," Mitrofanova said.

Mitrofanova had been Russia's Permanent Representative to UNESCO since 2009. On Monday, Alexander Kuznetsov was appointed Russia's new envoy to the international organization.