British U.N. decision assailed

Press, 7 December 1985, Page 10

British U.N. decision assailed

NZPA-Reuter Paris Britain’s decision to pull out of the United Nations cultural body, U.N.E.5.C.0., from December 31, evoked expressions of regret yesterday from France, West Germany, and the organisation’s controversial directorgeneral, Mr Amadou Mahtar M’Bow.

But the Reagan Administration expressed understanding and called for more reforms of the United Nations body. Bonn’s and France’s delegates pointed to progress in reforming the agency and West Germany said that the best place to change it was from within.

Western diplomats in Paris, where U.N.E.S.C.O. has its headquarters, said that the withdrawal, announced in London yesterday, would spell more trouble ahead for the agency although it was unlikely to set off an exodus of nations.

Britain announced that it was withdrawing from the end of the year, accusing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation of defying demands for serious reform, political bias against the West, and bad management.

■Hie United States pulled out in December, 1984, depriving the agency of a quarter of its budget. Mr M’Bow expressed regret and surprise at Britain’s decision.

Diplomats in Paris said that Britain’s withdrawal would add to the agency’s financial problems and could damage already-low morale.

Other Western nations were unlikely to follow the British lead because they believed that the 160-mem-ber agency had recently shown signs of being willing to reform, they said. After the United ■ States withdrew many Western nations, including The Netherlands, West Germany, and Japan, had threatened to review their membership. But the turning-point had been the general conference at Sofia, Bulgaria, which ended last month. Third World and East bloc nations had shown a willingness to listen to the West and began to set the agency in order, they said. - T*