Trump withdrawals US from UNHRC and stops UNRWA funding
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order withdrawing the United States from the United Nations Human rights Council (UNHRC) and stopping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This decision, made on the eve of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reinstates policies from trump’s earlier management, though the Middle East landscape has changed substantially since then.
The UNRWA plays a critical role in supporting over two million Palestinians in Gaza, a region impacted by ongoing conflict. However, the institution has faced allegations of ties to terrorist activities following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. A UN investigation confirmed that several employees were involved in the attack.
Trump’s actions have been praised by former Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who commended the withdrawal from the UNHRC, labeling it as a ”den of human rights abusers.” Critics have noted the council’s perceived bias against Israel, with a disproportionate number of resolutions targeting the country in comparison to others with serious human rights violations.
The executive order also raises concerns about the future functionality of the U.S.Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been under scrutiny by Trump as well. The overall narrative reflects Trump’s “America First” policy and a strong stance against perceived biases within international organizations regarding Israel.
Trump withdraws US from UNHRC and stops UNRWA funding
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday withdrawing the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council and prohibiting future funding for the U.N. relief agency for Gaza known as UNRWA, a White House source told the Washington Examiner.
The executive order reinstates policies that Trump had in place during his first administration, though the Middle East looks vastly different than when he left the White House. It also comes a day before he’s set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
UNRWA serves as the primary support system for the more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza affected by the war, which has gone on for more than 15 months, but Israel has banned the entity from operating within its borders over allegations that several members of the U.N. agency participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack; the worst in Israel’s history.
A high-level investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services in 2024 found that nine employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, and they did not find sufficient evidence against a further 10 individuals whom the Israeli government accused of playing a role.
ELISE STEFANIK, ISRAEL, AND THE ‘ANTISEMITIC ROT’ AT THE UN
Israel and the United Nations have a historically rocky relationship, and it worsened significantly after Hamas’s attack.
Former congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, praised the president’s decision on social media.
“Today’s Executive Order is the correct action by President Trump to deliver America First peace through strength moral leadership,” she said. “The UN Human Rights Council is a den of human rights abusers and disgraceful and obsessive antisemitism. UNRWA must be defunded and dismantled. U.S. taxpayers dollars should NEVER prop up terrorism. Full stop.”
The U.N. Human Rights Council was created during the George W. Bush administration, but he and Trump, in his first term, did not engage with it, whereas, Under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, they did.
The White House said in a fact sheet the council “has not fulfilled its purpose and continues to be used as a protective body for countries committing horrific human rights violations” and condemned its stance on Israel, according to Politico.
“The UNHRC has demonstrated consistent bias against Israel, focusing on it unfairly and disproportionately in council proceedings,” the document added. “In 2018, the year President Trump withdrew from the UNHRC in his first administration, the organization passed more resolutions condemning Israel than Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined.”
Trump’s executive order also comes as his administration has halted the work of the United States Agency for International Development, which promotes human rights abroad, calling into question whether it will remain at all.
“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out,” Trump told reporters on Sunday, while Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk announced his plan to shut the agency down.
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