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Trump signs orders pulling US out of UN bodies, including Human Rights Council: ‘Not well run’
Trump alleged that the United Nations is “not being well run” but highlighted the organisation's “tremendous potential”.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday withdrawing the US from United Nations organisations like the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and ordering a review of funding for the global body.
The executive order said Washington would withdraw from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and review its involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Trump alleged that the UN is “not being well run” but highlighted the organisation's “tremendous potential”. He also claimed that US assistance to the global body was “disproportionate” and called for all countries to provide funding.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the move was in protest of “anti-American bias” at the UN agencies. “More generally, the executive order calls for review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities and levels of funding among different countries,” Scharf added.
UNRWA is the primary aid agency for Palestinians, with many of the 1.9 million people displaced by the war in Gaza relying on its deliveries for survival.
Under Trump, Washington had supported Israel’s move to ban the agency after the US ally accused UNRWA of distributing hateful material.
US funding for UNRWA, around $300 million-$400 million a year, was suspended in January 2024 by then-President Joe Biden’s administration after Israel alleged that 12 of the agency’s employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. Probes revealed some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA but no evidence for Israel's allegations.
The decision to withdraw from UN bodies coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. Netanyahu has long criticized UNRWA, accusing it of anti-Israel incitement and claiming its staff were “involved in terrorist activities against Israel.”
During Trump’s first term (2017–2021), he also cut funding for UNRWA, questioning its effectiveness, insisting that Palestinians resume peace talks with Israel, and calling for unspecified reforms. His administration also withdrew from the 47-member Human Rights Council midway through a three-year term, citing chronic bias against Israel and a failure to implement reforms.
(With AP, AFP inputs)
