WASHINGTON, US, Jan 9 (IPS) – The Trump Administration’s sweeping executive order to withdraw the United States from dozens of United Nations bodies and international organizations, as well as a treaty ratified by the United States with the advice and consent of the US Senate, is a targeted attack on multilateralism, international law and global institutions critical to ensuring human rights, peace and climate justice.
This move, whose constitutionality and legal effect are questionable, was announced under the guise of protecting American interests, but does exactly the opposite. By abandoning global cooperation on the environment, human rights, democracy and peace, the US is putting its own future, and that of the planet, at greater risk.
The Executive Order represents a deliberate effort to dismantle the international infrastructure designed to uphold dignity, protect children, improve gender and racial equality, promote sustainable development, preserve the oceans, and address the climate crisis. It undermines institutions that protect the global commons and provide fundamental protections to marginalized people and people in vulnerable situations around the world, including refugees, women, children, people of African descent and many others.
Rebecca Brown, president and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said:
“This executive order is not just a policy change – it is a direct attack on the multilateral system that has helped prevent conflict, promote human rights, and protect the global commons for nearly eight decades. At a time when rising seas, record heat, and deadly disasters require urgent, coordinated action, the U.S. government is choosing to withdraw.”
“The decision to stop funding and withdraw from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) does not absolve the US of its legal obligations to prevent climate change and repair climate damage, as the world’s highest court made clear last year. This action is simply a continuation of this administration’s efforts to prioritize corporate interests over people and the planet, and ignore the rule of law.
Withdrawing from institutions designed to support global climate action does not change the grim reality of the climate crisis, refutes the irrefutable evidence of its causes, or eliminates clear U.S. responsibility for its consequences. Withdrawal will only serve to further isolate the US at the expense of its own people and billions of people around the world.”
IPS UN Office
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