President Donald Trump’s executive order to end US support to 66 international organizations, including 31 United Nations (UN) groups, has faced strong opposition from these organizations, the global community, humanitarian experts and climate activists, who are concerned about the negative effects on global cooperation, sustainable development and international peace and security.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 8 (IPS) – President Donald Trump’s executive order to end US support to 66 international organizations, including 31 United Nations (UN) groups, has faced strong opposition from these organizations, the global community, humanitarian experts and climate activists, who are concerned about the negative impact on global cooperation, sustainable development and international peace and security.
This executive order follows previous U.S. withdrawals from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as recent U.S. budget cuts. The US recently cut its funding for foreign aid organizations.
The majority of the bodies involved in this Executive Order are organizations dealing with issues of climate change, labor, peacekeeping, migration and the conditions of civil space. In one statement from the US State Department confirms that Trump’s assessment of these organizations has found them to be “wasteful, ineffective and harmful”, citing them as using US taxpayer money to fund “progressive ideologies” that do not align with national interests.
The executive order mainly affects organizations working on climate change, labor rights, peacekeeping, migration and public space conditions. In a statement, the US State Department described the organizations, calling them vehicles for “progressive ideologies,” funded by US taxpayers and not aligned with US national interests.
“The Trump Administration has determined that these institutions are redundant in scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly led, preoccupied with the interests of actors who advance agendas contrary to ours, or threaten the sovereignty, freedoms, and overall prosperity of our nation,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to pour the blood, sweat and treasure of the American people into these institutions with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars of taxpayer dollars flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over.”
The order directs all executive departments and agencies to immediately begin implementing the repeals. For the affected UN agencies, this means ending US participation and cutting off funding. Rubio also confirmed that the assessment of additional international organizations is ongoing.
Humanitarian experts and spokespersons for many of the affected entities have expressed alarm and condemnation of President Trump’s order, warning of dire consequences for climate action, human rights, peacebuilding efforts, multilateral governance, and global crisis response systems – especially at a time of increasing international instability.
“Today we are witnessing a complete shift from global cooperation to transactional relationships,” said Yamide Dagnet, Senior International Vice President at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
“It is increasingly less about shared principles, the rule of law and solidarity, risking more global instability. By choosing to walk away from tackling some of the world’s greatest environmental, economic, health and security threats, the United States of America stands to lose much. With declining credibility and competitiveness in the industries of the future, the United States will lose out on jobs and innovation, ceding scientific and technological leadership to other countries,” Dagnet said.
She calls on world leaders to commit to multilateralism.
“The world is bigger than the United States – and so are the solutions to our problems, which more than ever require global cooperation, including among states, provinces and cities worldwide. Now is the moment when world leaders must commit decisively to multilateral cooperation if we are to overcome these global threats to ensure a safe and sustainable future for all.”
Many have also criticized the US’s “à la carte” approach to meeting its international obligations, supporting only those operations and agencies that align with President Trump’s priorities.
“I think what we’re seeing is the crystallization of the US ‘my way or the highway’ approach to multilateralism,” said Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group. “It is a very clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington’s own terms.”
Historically, the US has been the largest financial contributor to the UN, with about 22 percent of the organization’s regular budget and roughly 28 percent of all peacekeeping funds.
The withdrawal of U.S. support to 31 UN bodies is expected to lead to significant budget deficits, cuts in humanitarian personnel and the loss of crucial technical expertise of U.S. personnel. These setbacks are likely to hinder progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reduce food assistance and medical services for people in protracted crises, and embolden authoritarian governments to resist humanitarian surveillance and intervention.
“The US decision to withdraw, along with other international bodies, from dozens of United Nations programs and agencies is just the latest attack by President Trump on the protection of human rights and the global rule of law,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“Whether it means withdrawing from the Human Rights Council or defunding the UN Population Fund, which helps millions of women and girls around the world, this administration has sought to destroy the very same human rights institutions that the US has helped build over the past 80 years. UN Member States must resist the US campaign to destroy the tools they use to uphold human rights and ensure vital UN programs get the funding and political support they need.”
At a press conference at UN Headquarters, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, briefed reporters on the UN’s response to the US withdrawal, stressing that the UN remains committed to helping those in need regardless of US participation.
“As we have consistently emphasized, estimated contributions to the United Nations regular budget and the peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all Member States, including the United States,” Dujarric said.
“All United Nations entities will continue to implement their mandates as given by Member States. The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver results for those who depend on us. We will continue to implement our mandates with determination.”
IPS UN office report
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