New UNESCO director-general faces challenges from US withdrawal from Gaza and Ukraine

The United Nations High Week, held annually by the United Nations General Assembly, may have ended on Friday, but the international body still has a number of important meetings this week. On Tuesday, UNESCO’s Executive Board met to decide on the candidate for the new Director-General. UNESCO is the cultural agency of the United Nations responsible for protecting world heritage sites and promoting international cooperation in the fields of education, arts, science and culture.

In a decisive vote, the board nominated just one candidate: Khaled El-Enany Ezz. In her speech, UNESCO General Conference President Simone-Mirela Miculescu mentioned El-Enany’s “unwavering dedication” to the organization and “two years of tireless work” during which he visited 65 countries.

“Above all, the guiding slogan of your campaign, ‘UNESCO for People,’ clearly resonates with all of us. These four words are your moral compass: a commitment to equity, respect for human dignity and a refusal to allow policy to stray from principle,” Miculescu said. “At a time when humanity is at a crossroads, your vision reassures us that our organization will remain true to its mission: to put people first and promote peace and sustainable development for all.”

El-Enany, 54, served as Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities from 2019 to 2022 and is also a professor of Egyptology at Helwan University in Cairo. He served as Minister of Antiquities from 2016 until the department was merged with the Tourism Department in 2019. He also served as director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. During his tenure with the Egyptian government, he oversaw the construction and renovation of more than 20 museums, often working with UNESCO. He was integral to the development of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which partially opened last year after a decade of development at a cost of $1 billion. (GEM will have its grand opening in November.)

Enani, the first Arab director-general, will take over the role at a particularly difficult time for the organization. UNESCO has arguably been at the forefront of two major conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as cultural sites in both regions have suffered unprecedented destruction, by Russia and Israel respectively.

In February this year, UNESCO reported that 341 cultural sites had been damaged across Ukraine since the outbreak of war in February 2022, including 26 religious buildings, 150 buildings of historical or artistic significance, and 31 museums. The following year, UNESCO’s outgoing director-general Audrey Azoulay pledged more than $10 million for restoration work.

Meanwhile, in June, a United Nations committee investigation concluded that Israeli attacks on cultural and religious sites in the occupied Palestinian territories constituted war crimes and crimes of genocide against humanity. According to the report, the number of attacks against heritage sites has reached 110 since October 7, 2023, according to UNESCO, which shows “a clear disregard for the religious beliefs, culture and heritage of the Palestinian people and damage to the culture and identity of the Palestinian people”.

The organization has also been heavily criticized by the Trump administration for providing a platform for “divisive social and cultural causes” and for alleged anti-Israel bias – a charge also leveled by Israel. (this times of israelIn an article that stoked anti-Israel bias, it was stated that El-Enani would replace Azoulay, the first Jewish director-general of UNESCO, who was elected in 2017. ) In July this year, Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from UNESCO at the end of 2026, a move that will deal a heavy blow to the organization’s finances.

While Enani is undoubtedly qualified — UNESCO noted that he oversaw more than 2,000 sites as minister — the choice has stoked opinion in Israel that the organization is doubling down on alleged anti-Israel bias. Still, El-Enany told reporters after the vote that he would try to conduct “technical” deliberations “and not politicize the organization.”

El-Enany still must be confirmed by the full UNESCO body in November, although it has never rejected the choice made by the Executive Board.