Donald Trump has signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN human rights council and prohibiting future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
US funding to UNRWA was suspended in 2024 under Joe Biden’s administration, after Israel accused a handful of UNRWA employees of participating in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.
A series of investigations, including one led by the French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA – but emphasised Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.
Trump’s first administration cut funding to the agency in 2018 before the Biden administration restarted it again in 2021.
The first Trump administration also withdrew the US from the UN’s Human rRghts Council in 2018 and the Biden administration rejoined the body three years later.
Donald Trump spoke to reporters as he signed executive orders preventing the US from providing support to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and withdrawing from the UN’s human rights council.
Trump said he believed the UN has “tremendous potential” but “it’s not being well run”. “They’ve got to get their act together,” he said.
The Executive Order said it withdrew Washington from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), and would review involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other UN bodies
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