United States informs UNESCO of intent to withdraw.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was infomed by the United States on 28 December that it intended to withdraw from UNESCO at the end of 1984.

A State Department spokeman said the decision "was based upon our experience that UNESCO has extraneously politicized virtually every subject it deals with, has exhibited hostility toward the basic institutions of a free society, especially the free market and the free press, and has demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion".

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said he learned of the decision "with regret and conern". A withdrawal, he said, "wo0uld adversely affect the principle of universality of membership, which is of fundamental importance to the United Nations system". Given the significance of UNESCO's work and objectives, he hoped that a way would be found for the United States to remain a member of that organization.

Amadou Mahtar M'Bow, UNESCO Director-General, said he had consistently stressed the need to safeguard the universality. of UNESCO and had always acted within the limits of his prerogatives to ensure that no Member State should be exluded from it. He regretted a decision which, if put into effect, would be prejudicial to the principle of universality. He would take all measures necessary so that UNESCO could continue its mission in accordance with its Constitution and the decisions of its General Conference.

In a letter replying to Secretary of State George P. Shultz on 18 January, Mr. M'Bow said a distinction should be drawn between viewpoints expressed by UNESCO's individual member States or groups and the activities of UNESCO itself, whose ethical role dictated that it should transcend particular ideologies, without ignoring them. The vast majority of decisions of the UNESCO General Conference since 1976 had been reached by consensus--"in other words, the activities carried out by the organization have been decided not by a majority of States neglecting the viewpoints of the minority but by all the States respresented".

As a result of decolonization, the number of UNESCO member States had increased from 28 mainly Western countries at the time of its establishment to 161 today. The peoples of the former colonies "have enriched the organization with their diversity but have also brought with them their own subjects of concern", Mr. M'Bow said. "It is in keeping with UNESCO's mission to help them solve their problems in order to attain its 'objectives of international peace and of the common welfare of mankind'."

He said "there is not a single line or a single act for which the organization as such has borne responsibility which could have been taken as justifying or even countenancing any restriction whatsoever upon the full and undivided exercise 4of human rights or upon the principle of the free flow of information".

The Director-General expressed his wish that the United States would decide to remain in UNESCO and thus preserve the organization's universality, "the ideal towards which all the institutions of the United Nations aspire".

On 2>:5 February, Mr. M'Bow wrote to United States Congressman James H7. Scheuer that the UNESCO secretariat would co-operate fully if the Congress initiated a review of UNESCO operations as proposed by Mr. Scheuer.