11 September 2012
On 10 September 2012, Kosovo was declared ‘fully independent’ as a group of 23 European countries, Turkey and the United States ended their supervisory activities. While Kosovo has been recognized by more than 90 countries, its statehood remains contested by Serbia, but also China and Russia.
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…)