Audrey Azoulay of France re-elected for a second term as head of UNESCO

The U.N.’s cultural agency UNESCO re-elected Frenchwoman Audrey Azoulay as director-general for a second term on Tuesday, and the former French culture minister hailed a new trust and unity in the organization.

UNESCO had been divided into divisions when Azoulay took office in 2017 when both Israel and the United States left the agency over accusations of anti-Israel bias.

Unopposed, Azoulay won his new term at UNESCO’s general conference with 155 votes in favor, only nine against, and one abstention.

“I see this result as a sign that unity within our organization has recovered. Over the past four years, we have been able to restore confidence in UNESCO and, in some respects, this has also consisted of restoring UNESCO’s confidence in itself, ”he said.

“We regain serenity by reducing political tensions that stood in our way and seeking common positions on issues that were divisive in the past,” he added.

UNESCO, which in 2020-21 received a total funding of $ 1.4 billion in contributions and mandatory donations from members, has been at the forefront of high-profile projects such as rebuilding Iraq’s old city of Mosul and schools. in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, damaged by the explosion of August 2020.

Azoulay’s biggest challenge for his second four-year term will be trying to lure Israel and the United States back into the organization, which oversees the coveted World Heritage label for humanity’s most precious sites around the world.

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A source close to Azoulay, who asked not to be named, told AFP in the run-up to the conference that there were “positive signs” that the two countries may be considering a comeback.

For some, the return of the United States would be a welcome balance to the growing importance and influence of China, which now accounts for more than 15 percent of total mandatory budget contributions.

(AFP)