Question:
Which of the following formally quit from UNESCO recently?
Which of the following formally quit from UNESCO recently?
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Membership withdrawals from UN bodies are often driven by political, financial, or ideological differences rather than operational shortcomings alone.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
- U.S.A
- China
- Sweden
- India
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The Correct Option is A
Approach Solution - 1
The United States officially withdrew from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in response to claims of anti-Israel bias and calls for organizational reforms. The U.S. had a history of tensions with UNESCO, having withdrawn previously in the 1980s and rejoining in 2003. The latest withdrawal indicated political disagreements over policy positions and funding priorities.
China, Sweden, and India remained members of UNESCO during this period, making the U.S.A the correct choice. This move also reduced U.S. influence over global cultural and educational programs spearheaded by the organization.
China, Sweden, and India remained members of UNESCO during this period, making the U.S.A the correct choice. This move also reduced U.S. influence over global cultural and educational programs spearheaded by the organization.
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Approach Solution -2
The question asks which country formally quit UNESCO recently. Let's examine each option.
- U.S.A: The United States officially withdrew from UNESCO, citing concerns over anti-Israel bias within the organisation and a need for broader reform. This was not the country's first exit either, since it had also left in the 1980s before rejoining in 2003.
- China: China remained an active member of UNESCO throughout this period and did not withdraw.
- Sweden: Sweden also continued its membership and took no such step of leaving the organisation.
- India: India stayed a member of UNESCO as well, with no withdrawal on record.
Of the four countries, only the United States actually left UNESCO during this period, making it the one that formally quit.
Therefore, the correct answer is U.S.A.
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Approach Solution -3
Checking each country's actual membership record for this period, alongside any stated reason for leaving, settles this question directly.
- U.S.A: The United States formally withdrew from UNESCO, citing concerns about anti-Israel bias within the organisation and calling for wider reform. This was in fact its second exit, having also left in the 1980s before returning in 2003.
- China: China's membership continued without interruption through this period, with no withdrawal on record.
- Sweden: Sweden, too, remained a member throughout, taking no step to leave the organisation.
- India: India's membership also continued as normal, with no exit recorded.
Only one of the four countries has an actual withdrawal, backed by a stated reason, on its membership record.
Therefore, the correct answer is U.S.A.
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Top CLAT General Awareness Questions
- On the evening of the 10th, General Dyer arrived at Amritsar, and the Deputy-Commissioner handed over the civil power to him. He issued a proclamation by word of mouth that no meetings should be held. Two days later, after there had been no sort of riot, nor murder, General Dyer heard that a meeting was to be held at the Jallianwala Bagh. He proceeded there with about fifty troops, half British, half Indian, and a certain number of Ghurkas, armed with their kukris. The Jallianwala Bagh is an open space, half a mile square, which has one entry wide enough for three persons. The troops got in and lined up on a mound of debris. The walls, seven feet high, and the surrounding houses enclosed the people. There were, too, three alleys through which the people might have been able to pass. Within thirty seconds of the troops getting in, General Dyer gave orders to fire, and the crowd of people, estimated at anything from 5,000 to 20,000, who were sitting on the ground peacefully listening to the mob oratory, were fired on. The result of the troops’ fire into the mass of people we do not know. But we do know that Dyer’s own estimate of the casualties resulting from ten minutes continual individual firing, was 400 to 500 killed and 1,500 wounded. The people were not able to escape. They were people who had not offered any violence and who had not been warned. These people were shot down. After ten minutes, the ammunition was exhausted and the troops marched off, and they left 1,500 wounded there. There were men lying there for two days, dying of thirst, eating the ground, bleeding to death and nobody to look after them. Those who lived nearby came and carried away some of the wounded from the heap of dead and dying, but the unfortunate country people died there miserably of their wounds. This is what is done in 1919 in British India…
Centuries hence you will find Indian children brought up to this spot, just as they visit now the Cawnpore Well, and you can imagine the feelings of these Indians for generations over this terrible business.
[Col. Wedgwood, MP, speaking in the British Parliament, 22 December 1919] - On 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy, which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up.
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Centuries hence you will find Indian children brought up to this spot, just as they visit now the Cawnpore Well, and you can imagine the feelings of these Indians for generations over this terrible business.
[Col. Wedgwood, MP, speaking in the British Parliament, 22 December 1919]
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