PARIS, France – Kosovo failed Monday, November 9, in its bid to gain membership of the UN cultural body UNESCO, coming up three votes short of the two-thirds majority required.
Ninety-two UNESCO member states voted in favor, with 50 voting against and dozens of abstentions.
Kosovo needed 95 votes to gain membership, which would have represented a leap forward in its bid for full international recognition.
UNESCO's Executive Board recommended last month to accept Kosovo as a member, despite it not being a UN member state.
But Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its identity and religion, was strongly opposed and tried earlier Monday to delay the vote at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris.
Kosovo's Deputy Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi said: "It's a small setback in a very long journey. We already won a big battle when we achieved peace."
He added: "The majority of the world wants to see Kosovo inside UNESCO, we were only three votes short."
Asked if Kosovo would apply again, Selimi said: "We shall discuss this when the time comes."
Serbia's President Tomislav Nikolic welcomed the decision.
"This is a just and moral victory gained in almost impossible conditions, when what is right cannot count on the support of the majority," Nikolic said.
UNESCO membership would have unlocked millions in funds for culture and education in the impoverished former Serbian province.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Isa Mustafa had earlier Monday pledged to protect Serbian Orthodox Christian sites in a bid to allay the fears of countries opposed to its membership bid.
Serbia had warned that Orthodox monuments would be at risk if Kosovo took over their management, citing instances of attacks and looting since the 1998-1999 war between the two sides. – Rappler.com