US withdraws from 66 international organisations, including key UN bodies

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order withdrawing the country from cooperation with 66 international organisations, including 31 United Nations agencies and 35 non-UN bodies, saying they no longer serve American interests. The decision aligns with Trump’s pledge to prioritise the interests of the United States and its citizens during his leadership. The White House said the move was taken because the organisations promote “ineffective or hostile agendas” and no longer benefit Americans. Trump has previously reduced or cut funding to several multilate

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order withdrawing the country from cooperation with 66 international organisations, including 31 United Nations agencies and 35 non-UN bodies, saying they no longer serve American interests. The decision aligns with Trump’s pledge to prioritise the interests of the United States and its citizens during his leadership. The White House said the move was taken because the organisations promote “ineffective or hostile agendas” and no longer benefit Americans. Trump has previously reduced or cut funding to several multilateral institutions he opposes. He has also rejected the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, at one point describing it as a “hoax.” Among the organisations affected is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a key international treaty that underpins global climate agreements, including the 2015 Paris Agreement. The United States did not attend the most recent UN climate change conference held last year, marking its first absence in more than three decades. The executive order also directs the United States to withdraw from UN Women, which promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women, and from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which focuses on family planning and maternal and child health. The US had already reduced its funding to UNFPA last year. According to the directive, withdrawing from these organisations means the United States will no longer provide them with financial support. Since the start of his second term last year, Trump has pushed to sharply reduce US involvement in the United Nations system. This has included withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, maintaining a suspension of funding for the UN agency that assists Palestinians, and pulling out of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He has also announced plans to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization and from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Other organisations the United States is set to leave include the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Energy Forum, the UN Register of Conventional Arms, and the UN Peacebuilding Commission.