UNESCO | Pakistan

Pakistan is set to become the first South Asian nation to ratify the 2001 Unesco Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH), marking a significant step toward safeguarding its submerged maritime legacy, a statement from the Press Information Department (PID) said on Friday. In recent years, underwater cultural heritage has attracted increasing attention from both the scientific community and the general public. For scientists, it represents an invaluable source of information on ancient civilisations, maritime practices, human use of land and marine environments, and climate change, according to Unesco. The announcement was made by Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry during a meeting with Unesco representative Dr Cristina Menegazzi in Islamabad today. The two sides discussed collaborative efforts to document, preserve, and promote Pakistan’s rich underwater archaeological resources. “Pakistan is set to become the first South Asian nation to ratify the 2...

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the UN culture and education agency Unesco on Tuesday, repeating a move he had already ordered during his first term, which had been reversed under Joe Biden. The withdrawal from the Paris-based agency, which was founded after World War Two to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science, and culture, will take effect on December 31, 2026. “President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from Unesco — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. The State Department said remaining in Unesco was not in the national interest, accusing it of having “a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy”. Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said she deeply regretted Trump’s decision, but that it was “expected, and Unesco has prepar...