United States President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The order also included the withdrawal of the U.S. from the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and initiated a review of American involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
These actions were taken in protest against what White House staff secretary Will Scharf described as “anti-American bias” within these UN agencies.
The UN Human Rights Council consists of 47 members elected by the General Assembly to serve three-year terms. The United States, which had observer status at the time, was set to conclude its latest term on December 31.
The executive order effectively ended all U.S. participation in the council’s activities, which include reviewing countries’ human rights records and addressing specific allegations of rights abuses.
“More generally, the executive order calls for a review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities and levels of funding among different countries,” said Scharf. President Trump emphasized the “tremendous potential” of the UN but criticized its management, stating, “It should be funded by everybody, but we’re disproportionate, as we always seem to be.” Trump has consistently criticized the U.S. for its disproportionate funding of multilateral organizations, urging other nations to increase their contributions, particularly within NATO.
UNRWA, the primary aid agency for Palestinians, supports many of the 1.9 million people displaced by the war in Gaza, who rely on its aid for survival. Under Trump’s administration, the U.S. supported Israel’s efforts to ban UNRWA after Israel accused the agency of disseminating hate material. U.S. funding for UNRWA was previously halted in January 2024 by the administration of then-President Joe Biden, following Israel’s allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. Subsequent investigations revealed some “neutrality-related issues” within UNRWA but found no evidence to support Israel’s primary allegations. As a result, most other donors that had suspended funding resumed their financial support.
Earlier in his latest term, Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and began the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization, of which the U.S. is the largest donor. These withdrawals mirrored actions taken during Trump’s first term in office, which ended in 2021.
