U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says Palestinian efforts to join other United Nations agencies beyond its cultural arm is “not beneficial for Palestine and not beneficial for anybody.”
Ban said “millions and millions” of people could be affected if U.N. agencies see their funding cut as a result of the Palestinian bids. The United States and Canada have cut off funding for UNESCO because the Paris-based U.N. cultural agency approved a Palestinian membership bid – stripping it of about one-quarter of its total funding.