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Saudi Arabia is refusing to commit to allowing Israeli representatives to attend UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting on Sept. 10 in Riyadh, Israeli officials and Western diplomats familiar with the matter said.
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Why it's important
- Saudi reservations indicate that the government remains very cautious about steps that could be seen as normalization with Israel.
- If the Saudis agree, it will be the first time Israeli officials have entered the country publicly.
- If the Saudis persist in their refusal to allow representatives from all member states of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to enter, they could lose their role as hosts of the event.
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The Saudi crown prince (Photo: Reuters)
In the News Hub
- The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Organization for Education, Culture and Science (UNESCO) is the body responsible for declaring internationally recognized heritage sites.
- The committee was originally scheduled to meet in June last year in Russia, but the event was postponed because many countries threatened to boycott it if it took place in Russia or if Russia chaired the committee.
- In November 2022, the Russian ambassador to UNESCO resigned, and as a result, Russia's mandate to host the event expired. Last January, the mandate to host the conference went to Saudi Arabia.
Backstage
- Western diplomats said UNESCO officials had been negotiating with the Saudi government over a so-called host country agreement in recent weeks.
- The signing of such an agreement is a condition for the beginning of practical preparations for a meeting of the World Heritage Committee.
- Israeli officials and Western diplomats said the most significant obstacle in the negotiations was a clause in which the Saudis pledged to allow representatives from all UNESCO member states to enter the country freely.
- Senior Israeli officials and Western diplomats noted that despite the fact that the Saudis did not explicitly mention Israel, it is clear to everyone that this is why they are not yet signing the agreement.
What's next
- Negotiations are still ongoing and UNESCO is in contact with both the Saudi and Israeli governments, according to Western diplomats.
- Western diplomats noted that positive progress had been made in the negotiations in recent days.
- A decision on the matter should be made in the coming weeks so that there will be enough time to prepare for the World Heritage Committee meeting.
UNESCO headquarters in Paris - Garden of Peace (Japanese Garden), April 2010 (Photo: official website, Wikipedia)
Reminder
- Last March, Saudi Arabia prevented an Israeli delegation headed by Foreign Minister Eli Cohen from attending a UN Tourism Organization conference held in the country. The Saudis delayed the issuance of visas and dragged their feet in talks over security arrangements.
The big picture
- The Biden administration is currently trying to advance a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia by the end of this year or early next year.
- U.S. officials believe that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should normalize relations with Israel but wants to do so as part of a package deal with the United States, and therefore does not want to take any more small, gradual normalization steps.
What they say
- The Saudi embassy at UNESCO and the Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
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- Political-Political
Tags
- Saudi Arabia
- United Nations
- UNESCO