The UNESCO exit comes amid criticism of the agency’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and longstanding anti-Israel concerns.
The United States will withdraw from the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of 2026, the State Department confirmed on July 22, citing ideological differences and what it described as an anti-Israel bias and “globalist” agenda out of step with U.S. foreign policy.
“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
She said the agency advances “divisive social and cultural causes” and prioritizes the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—an agenda she called “globalist” and at odds with the Trump administration’s America First foreign policy.
The United States delivered a formal notice of its withdrawal to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on July 22, according to Bruce. The move, carried out under Article II(6) of the organization’s constitution, is set to take effect on Dec. 31, 2026. Until that date, the United States will continue to participate as a full member.
This marks the third time the United States has withdrawn from the Paris-based agency, and the second time under President Donald Trump. The United States last withdrew from UNESCO in 2017 during Trump’s first term, citing anti-Israel bias. It rejoined in 2023 under President Joe Biden, who argued the move was necessary to counter China’s growing influence in the organization.
However, a 2023 report from Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project found that UNESCO was “complicit” in the Chinese regime’s atrocities against Uyghurs and their culture by remaining silent and even providing cover for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly said that the decision to withdraw from UNESCO reflects Trump’s broader commitment to reevaluating international memberships through the lens of U.S. national interests.
“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes,” Kelly stated in a post on X on July 22.
“The President will always put America First. Our membership in all international organizations must align with our national interests.”
In her statement, Bruce reiterated U.S. opposition to UNESCO’s 2011 decision to admit “Palestine” as a member state, calling it “highly problematic” and a contributor to “the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.”
By Tom Ozimek
