Oct. 12, 2017 – AAAS Statement on U.S. Withdrawal from UNESCO

“We are disappointed that the Trump administration has announced that it will withdraw the United States as a member from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Science is a global enterprise that knows no borders, and the United States had chosen, until recently, to actively participate in opportunities to enhance scientific exchange between countries and institutions. UNESCO works to facilitate international science collaboration – for example, data sharing that benefits global public health; and research infrastructure that requires multinational agreement like the SESAME synchrotron. The continued retrenchment of the U.S. administration from active participation in international diplomacy efforts and dialogue is deeply concerning to the scientific community.”

– Rush Holt, chief executive officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes nearly 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information about AAAS, see www.aaas.org.