Many of the organizations are UN-affiliated agencies and panels focused on climate, labor, migration and social policy. The US State Department said the agencies work on agendas contrary to US interests.
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday directing US departments to end participation in and funding for 31 United Nations entities and 35 non-UN organizations “as soon as possible,” according to a White House release.
These organizations span climate change, conservation, counterterrorism and human rights, among other fields.
Which prominent international bodies has the US withdrawn from?
Among the 31 UN-affiliated bodies that Trump ordered to withdraw from are:
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): The main UN body for climate negotiations
UN Women: The main UN body on gender equality
The Office of the Special Representative of the secretary-general for Children in Armed Conflict
The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
UN Population Fund (UNFPA): Major UN agency on population, reproductive health, and demographics
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat)
The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
Trump also ordered the withdrew from 35 other international bodies, including:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The world’s leading authority on climate science, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
The International Solar Alliance (ISA)
The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP)
The Global Counterterrorism Forum
The Colombo Plan Council: Focused on technical cooperation across Asia-Pacific
The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU): A body intended to aid the non-proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons in several former Soviet states
Why is the US withdrawing?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that some of the institutions were working in agendas contrary to the interests of the United States.
Many of the organizations are UN-affiliated agencies and panels focused on climate, labor, migration and social policy areas the administration has labelled “woke.”
The move follows Trump’s earlier decisions to quit the Paris climate accord, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s cultural organization UNESCO, and to cut funding for UN agencies, including the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.
Last year, the US slashed foreign assistance through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), forcing several UN bodies to scale back operations primarily impacting developing countries and global public health.
Trump pushes for fossil fuels
Trump’s decision to quit a foundational climate treaty and the world’s leading climate science body comes amid an aggressive push for fossil fuels at home while repeatedly dismissing climate change as a “hoax” and renewable energy as a “scam.”
On Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his support for fossil fuels, writing on Truth Social that Venezuela would be “turning over” between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, days after US forces attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader Nicolas Maduro.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
DW News
