Donald Trump continues with his contentious executive order signing. After pulling out from WHO (World Health Organization) and the Paris Agreement, the US president signed another executive order on Tuesday (4th February) withdrawing the US from United Nations organisations like the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and ordering a review of funding for the global body.
The latest executive order suggests that the USA would withdraw from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA). The order also suggests that the USA would review its involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Trump’s allegation on the UN is that the organization is “not being well run” but acknowledged its “tremendous potential”. He also claimed that US assistance to the global body was “disproportionate” and called for all countries to provide funding.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said to the media that the latest move is a protest of “anti-American bias” at the UN agencies. “More generally, the executive order calls for review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities and levels of funding among different countries,” Scharf added in a statement.
UNRWA is the primary aid agency for Palestinians. Many of the 1.9 million people displaced by the war in Gaza rely on its deliveries for survival.
Under Trump, USA had lend support to Israel’s move of banning the agency after the US ally accused UNRWA of distributing hateful material.
Worth mentioning that US funding for UNRWA was also stopped previously during Joe Biden’s tenure. The fund of $300 million-$400 million a year, was suspended in January 2024 after Israel leveled allegations that 12 of the agency’s employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. Probes later revealed that some neutrality-related issues do exist in UNRWA but found no evidence in support of Israel’s allegations.