17 August 2012
On Thursday, 16 August 2012, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) decided to suspend Syrian membership in the organization. The decision was taken in reaction to President Bashar al-Assad’s continuous suppression of the Syrian revolt. Iran was the only member to oppose the decision, claiming that it was contrary to the OIC Charter.
Source: Reuters | Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspends Syria
8 November 2011
Cross-posted from EJIL:Talk!
On 31 October 2011, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) approved the bid of Palestine for full membership with the necessary two-thirds majority. Although 107 UNESCO States voted in favor of Palestinian membership, the approval also faced notable opposition by 14 States. The overall number of 173 votes cast included 52 abstentions. Among the States voting against the bid were the United States, Canada and several EU member States, including Germany and the Netherlands. While the diverging positions of EU member States thus reveals once again the lack of unanimity in EU external relations policy, the US disapproval of the Palestinian UNESCO membership may have more serious consequences at the level of US-UNESCO relations. For after the approval of Palestine’s membership bid, the US immediately announced that it would cut off its funds to UNESCO, which amount to 60 million USD annually. (more…)