The order is part of the United States’ move away from international commitments the Trump administration considers as not aligned with U.S. interests.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from U.N. organizations including the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as part of a government-wide pullback from a number of international organizations.
The Feb. 4 order also stopped U.S. funding of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for the Near East (UNRWA) and stated that the United States will conduct a review of its membership in the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
This order came just days after another order was handed down to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). Israel also announced on Feb. 5 its withdrawal from the UNHRC, accusing the council of “institutional bias” against the Jewish state.
In the days following World War II, the United States participated in founding the United Nations, hoping the international forum and its peacekeeping operations could help prevent international conflicts.
The United Nations has “drifted from this mission,” the order stated, adding that it acts “contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism.”
The order requires that the secretary of state review and report on which of the international organization’s “conventions or treaties promote radical or anti-American sentiment.”
UNHRC, UNRWA, and UNESCO
In the order, the Trump administration accused the UNRWA of being “infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State … as foreign terrorist organizations.”
The administration noted some UNRWA employees’ involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The nine UNRWA employees identified by a U.N. investigation last year as Hamas operatives were fired by the agency.
The UNRWA’s detractors have voiced concern that the agency is a breeding ground for hatred toward the Jewish state. It has disputed those claims.
Late last year, Congress passed legislation to halt U.S. funding for UNRWA through March 2025. The United States, historically the largest donor to the agency, contributed $422 million in 2023 alone.
The administration also levels accusations at UNHRC and UNESCO.
