As of this Monday 8 October 2007, Singpore rejoined UNESCO after more than two decades of absence from the international organization. UNESCO stands for the “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization” and has existed since the UN was founded in 1945 to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture. Why did Singapore leave and what was the cause for the controversy?

During the 1970s and 1980s, UNESCO’s support for what it called “New World Information and Communication Order” and its “Many Voices One World” MacBride report calling for so-called democratization of the media. The report criticized and condemned concentration of media in fewer hands and the commercialization of the media, and was condemned by the US, Britain, and Singapore as a communist attempt to destroy the freedom of the press. Thereafter, all three countries withdrew from UNESCO.

Through the 1990s certain reforms were made such that the UK rejoined when the Blair government came to power in 1997. The United States rejoined in 2003 after UNESCO adopted the Convention on Cultural Diversity, and according to the Bush administration, the organization “is committed to advancing human rights, tolerance, and learning.” And finally, Singapore has rejoined this organisation as of this week.

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
• « Not that I’m comparing…
• » More INT Blogging