Money Delayed Is Money Denied

Like partners approaching a divorce, the Reagan Administration and the director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization last week raised a squabble over money. At issue: the return of more than $17 million contributed by the U.S. to a special fund set up to serve as a financial cushion in case currency fluctuations caused UNESCO to lose money. The funds were not needed, so, like other member nations, the U.S. expected a full return of its cash--with interest.

Not so fast, said UNESCO Director-General Amadou Mahtar M'Bow of Senegal. Reason: the U.S. has announced that it will pull out of UNESCO after 1984 unless the agency renounces its anti-Western bias, including support for a "new world information order" that could muzzle journalists. A U.S. pullout would deprive UNESCO of about $43 million annually, roughly 25% of its budget. Aides to M'Bow told other members that UNESCO might not pay back the currency-cushion funds until 1985--and then only to nations that are paid-up UNESCO members. Snapped one member of the U.S. delegation: "It looks to us as if he's trying to rewrite the rules late in the game." But before tempers could flare further, the prospect of an amicable settlement was offered by UNESCO Liaison Officer Doudou Diene, who pledged that "ways and means will be found to give back the money to the U.S."