377 



CONSORTiUM of SocIaI SCJENCE AsSOCJATiONS 



1200 SEVENiEEMh SiREEi, N.W., SuiiE 520, WAshirsqioN, DC. 200J6 • |202| 887-6166 



statement of the CONSORTIUM OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATIONS 



and the AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 



Concernlne the U.S. Withdrawal from UNESCO 



and Alternative Interim Arraneements 



for U.S. Participation In Multilateral Science Activities 



March 25, 1985 



HearinEE on Department of State Authorization BUI, FY 1986 



before the Subcommittee on International Operations, 



Committee on Foreien Affairs 



The Consortium of Social Science Associations groups ten scientific and 

 professional associations with a total membership of 185,000 social scientists 

 In such fields as law, economics, history, political science, and psychology. 

 In addition, the Consortium has 27 organizational affiliates with many more 

 thousands of 



The American Psychological Association Is the nation's leading association 

 of professional and academic psychologists. Its membership totals over 

 68,000. APA is a member of COSSA and of the U.S. National Commission for 

 UNESCO. 



COSSA and its members are concerned with the future of U.S. involvement in 

 international scientific cooperation. It is in the context of this broad 

 concern that we view the questions of the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO and the 

 administration's plans for establishing alternatives to U.S. participation In 

 UNESCO. 



1. Living up to repeated promises of support for International science . 



In late 1984, In preparation for the ininlnent U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO, 

 the State Department elaborated a program of alternative activities In 

 education, science, culture, and communications. The program was based on 

 recommendations from the National Research Council (1). It totalled $47 

 million, and Included tl4 million for science activities. The details of this 

 program have not been made public, although the Assistant Secretary of State 

 for International Organization Affairs, Mr. Gregory Newell, stated before this 

 subcommittee on December 6, 1984, that 85X of the resources would go "into 

 other agencies such as UNDP, AID, USIA" (2, p. 121) as "funds in trust" (ibid, 

 p. 126). The goal of these funds was "to forward development in the Third 

 World" (ibid, p. 121). The Department of State would act as a "check writer" 

 and no new personnel would be added to coordinate the activities supported 

 with this $47 million. 



The OMB rejected State's proposed program In January. Soon after. 

 Department of State personnel. In consultation with staff at the NRC, arrived 

 at a revised budget figure of $2.75 million that would be used In FY 86 "to 

 continue support for U.S. participation in and to meet U.S. commitments to 

 international conventions and scientific organizations engaged In work 

 considered essential and important to U.S. Interests" (3, p. 32). The 

 activities supported by the $2.75 million, which forms part- of the 



rricjn Anthropological Association • American Economic Association • American Historical Association " American Polil 

 American Psychological Association • American Sociological Association • American Statistical Associatii 

 Association of American Geographers • Association of American Law Schools • Linguistic Society of Amei 



