Current Events

New York Times: The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization decided on Tuesday to pull the plug on another embarrassment to its reputation, dissociating itself from this year’s celebration of philosophy, to be held in Iran in less than two weeks.

Unesco has been celebrating World Philosophy Day since 2002, but an agreement made quietly in 2008 to host this year’s event in Iran became extremely controversial, given Iran’s record of repression and censorship after disputed elections in 2009. Academics vowed to boycott this year’s event, scheduled for Nov. 21 to 23, and European nations, joined by the United States, urged the organization’s new director-general, Irina Bokova, to cancel the event.

A Paris-based event for philosophy day is expected to go ahead as scheduled on Nov. 18, which Ms. Bokova intends now to be the main celebration.

Western diplomats said that they first raised the issue with Ms. Bokova early this year, when the deal with Iran became more widely known, and this spring, Unesco said the event would go ahead as scheduled. Ms. Bokova announced on Tuesday that the organization would now dissociate itself from any related events in Tehran >>>