Since 1946, the U.S. has worked with the Paris-based United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) — a global group that works to provide people with clean water, teach girls how to read, eradicate poverty, and promote freedom of expression and creative thinking skills to resist violent extremism.

Though the U.S. helped co-found the agency, as of Friday, American influence in global culture, science and education is over — at least for now — as the U.S. has lost its voting rights with the cultural agency after intentionally failing to pay its dues.

Each year, the U.S. donated about $80 million to UNESCO, which was a donation that made up about 22 percent of the agency’s overall budget. But in 2011, when UNESCO members voted to make Palestine a UNESCO member, the U.S. and Israel stopped paying dues to the agency.

According to the agency’s rules, the U.S. had until Friday, Nov. 8 to pay its dues or lose its voting privileges, but because the U.S. automatically cuts off all funding for any U.N. agency that recognizes Palestine as a member — by law — the U.S. found itself in a legal catch-22.

Many in Washington have also begun to question why the U.S. has not changed this law requiring the U.S. to defund all agencies that recognize Palestine, especially since the law could have serious consequences for other U.N. agencies like the World Health Organization.

When asked by Reuters what his reaction was to the loss of U.S. voting rights, U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion said that Washington views the agency as a “critical partner in creating a better future.”

“We intend to continue our engagement with UNESCO in every possible way,” Killion said.

Phyllis Magrab, the Washington-based U.S. national commissioner for UNESCO, said the loss of voting rights concerns her because “we won’t be able to have the same clout. In effect, we [now won’t] have a full tool box. We’re missing our hammer.”

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova also lamented the change, saying, “I regret to say that I’m seeing, in these last two years … a declining American influence and American involvement.”

“I can’t imagine how we could disengage with the United States at UNESCO. We are so intertwined with our message. What I regret is that this decision became so divisive and triggered this suspension of the funding,” she added.

Israel is another country that refused to pay dues in 2011 once the agency recognized Palestine as a member with voting rights. Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, said his country applauded the U.S. decision to continue “objecting to the politicisation of UNESCO, or any international organization, with the accession of a non-existing country like Palestine.”

After the U.S. pulled its funding, the agency has dealt with the financial blow by cutting or scaling back on U.S.-led initiatives such as tsunami research and education on the Holocaust and genocide awareness. Another program that has been slashed is restoring water facilities in Iraq.

The Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, Elias Sanbar, said other countries were beginning to make up for the shortfall, and hypothetically asked if it was in the best of the interest of the U.S. to be replaced.

“We need [the United States] to be active. By taking this decision, first of all, they have created big problems for UNESCO, but they have also lost part of their role and we need their role.”

A full list of countries that have lost their voting rights was read on Saturday, Nov. 9. before the entire UNESCO general conference.

With the U.S. no longer in voting power, some in Washington have expressed fear that not only will some U.S. initiatives to fight extremism, advocate for gender equality and freedom of the press lose an advocate, but the current UNESCO membership may lead to an increase in anti-Israel sentiment. Currently, many members are critical of Israel for “territorial reasons” and Israel’s repeated blocks to keep Palestine from gaining recognition of its statehood.

News of the loss of voting rights comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry works to renew peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, warning Israel that if the talks fail, there could be an uprising.