President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council, prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Trump on Tuesday also directed the US to review its participation in the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the body that uses culture and history as a bridge-building mechanism between nations.
The United States helped found the United Nations (UN) after World War II to prevent future global conflicts and promote international peace and security. But some of the UN's agencies and bodies have drifted from this mission and instead act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism," the executive order said.
The executive order said that as in 2018, when the US withdrew from the UNHRC, the US will reevaluate its commitment to these institutions and three UN organisations that deserve renewed scrutiny are the UNHRC; the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Israel and the US have accused the Human Rights Council of unfairly targeting and maligning Israel. In 2019, the US and Israel withdrew from UNESCO, with Israel criticising the agency as erasing Jewish history within Israel's borders.
The executive order will prohibit the US from providing any additional funding to UNRWA, which has consistently shown itself to be anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, as evidenced by the number of its staff members who took part in the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel, a fact sheet on the executive order said.
Trump halted funds for UNRWA during his first term. President Joe Biden put a block on US funds for UNRWA in January 2024 over allegations that staff for the agency participated in Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
Those funds were never reinstated when Biden left office.
It said UNRWA facilities have repeatedly been used by Hamas and other terrorist groups to store weapons and build tunnels.
"UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organisations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel," the executive order said.
It added that UNHRC has protected human rights abusers by allowing them to use the organisation to shield themselves from scrutiny, while UNESCO has demonstrated failure to reform itself, has continually demonstrated anti-Israel sentiment over the past decade, and has failed to address concerns over mounting arrears.
The fact sheet issued by the White House said that countries such as "Iran, China, and Cuba use the UNHRC to shield themselves despite having egregious records of human rights violations and abuses.
"The UNHRC has demonstrated consistent bias against Israel, focusing on it unfairly and disproportionately in council proceedings. In 2018, the year President Trump withdrew from the UNHRC in his first administration, the organisation passed more resolutions condemning Israel than Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined," it said.
As per the executive order, the United States will not participate in the UNHRC and will not seek election to that body.
The office of United States Representative to the UNHRC and any positions primarily dedicated to supporting the United States Representative to the UNHRC will be terminated.
The US will also conduct a review of its membership in UNESCO.
The review will include an evaluation of how and if UNESCO supports United States interests. In particular, the review will include an analysis of any anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organisation.
Following the executive order, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the leadership of UNRWA and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be notified that the United States will not fund UNRWA or the UNHRC and that the US will not satisfy any claims to pay 2025 assessments or prior arrears by these organisations.
Trump had said in 2017 that the UN must reform if it is to be an effective partner in confronting threats to sovereignty, security, and prosperity.
-- Yoshita Singh in New York
© 2025