The United States has left the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The relevant order was signed by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. According to the document, several UN organizations have “diverged from their original purpose, while acting against the interests of the United States, attacking its allies and promoting anti-Semitism.” Therefore, “the United States ends its participation in the UNHRC and seeks no further participation in the council.” The US Secretary of State has been tasked with abolishing the post of the US Representative at the Human Rights Council.
According to Washington’s view, the UNHRC has protected human rights violators, allowing them to use the organization as a shield against investigations.
Besides the withdrawal from the UNHRC, Washington will review its engagement in other UN agencies. The affected organizations are the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
UNRWA, the document claims, is “infiltrated by members of groups considered as terrorist organizations by the US Department of State.” Furthermore, UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Both the UNRWA and the Human Rights Council will be denied any funding by the United States.
Additionally, it is stated that the UNESCO fails repeatedly in its reform processes, demonstrates an anti-Israel attitude since the previous decade and cannot settle its payment arrears. Within the next 90 days, the United States will review its membership in the UNESCO, particularly in light of the national interests of the United States and “the anti-Semitism within the organization.”
The US had previously left the Human Rights Council in June 2018, with then-US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, accusing the council of “chronic bias against Israel.” Under US President Joe Biden, the United States returned to the UNHRC. With regard to information on the involvement of UNRWA employees in the Hamas attack on Israel, the Biden administration suspended funding for the Palestine relief agency.