Trump administration withdraws from dozens of international organisations

The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of international organisations, including the UN’s population agency and the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the US further retreats from global cooperation.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending US support for 66 organisations, agencies and commissions after instructing his administration to review participation in and funding for all international bodies, including those affiliated with the United Nations, according to a White House statement posted on social media.

Most of the targets are UN-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels focused on climate, labour and other issues the Trump administration has categorised as catering to diversity and so-called “woke” initiatives, according to a partial list obtained by The Associated Press.

“The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity,” the State Department said in a statement.

Trump’s decision to withdraw from organisations that foster cooperation among nations to address global challenges comes as his administration has launched military efforts or issued threats that have rattled allies and adversaries alike, including capturing autocratic Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and signalling an intention to take over Greenland.

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The administration had already suspended support for bodies such as the World Health Organization, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, the UN Human Rights Council and the UN cultural agency UNESCO, as it adopted an a-la-carte approach to paying its UN dues, backing only those operations it believes align with Trump’s agenda.

“I think what we’re seeing is the crystallisation of the US approach to multilateralism, which is ‘my way or the highway,’” said Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group. “It’s a very clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington’s own terms.”

The shift marks a sharp break from how previous Republican and Democratic administrations have dealt with the UN and has forced the world body, already undergoing internal reform, to respond with staffing and programme cuts.

Many independent non-governmental organisations, including some that work closely with the UN, have cited widespread project closures following the administration’s decision last year to slash foreign assistance through the US Agency for International Development, or USAID.

Despite the sweeping pullback, US officials, including Trump, say they still see value in the UN and want to focus taxpayer money on expanding American influence in standard-setting bodies where there is competition with China, such as the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization.

The withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the latest move by Trump and his allies to distance the US from international climate efforts. The UNFCCC, a 1992 agreement among 198 countries, underpins the landmark Paris climate accord. Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, withdrew from that agreement soon after returning to the White House.

Gina McCarthy, a former White House national climate adviser, described the move as “shortsighted, embarrassing, and a foolish decision”.

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“As the only country in the world not a part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of US climate leadership and global collaboration,” she said, warning the decision would undermine America’s influence over trillions of dollars in global investments and policies.

Mainstream scientists say climate change is driving increasingly deadly and costly extreme weather, including floods, droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall and dangerous heat.

Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, said the US withdrawal could hinder global efforts to curb greenhouse gases by giving other countries an excuse to delay their own commitments. Experts also warned meaningful progress would be difficult without cooperation from the US, one of the world’s largest emitters and economies.

The UN’s population agency, which provides sexual and reproductive health services worldwide, has long been a target of Republican opposition. Trump cut its funding during his first term, accusing it of involvement in “coercive abortion practices” in countries such as China – claims later dismissed by a State Department review under President Joe Biden, who restored funding in 2021.

Other organisations the US will exit include the Carbon Free Energy Compact, the United Nations University, the International Cotton Advisory Committee, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the Pan-American Institute for Geography and History, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, and the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.

The State Department said further reviews of US participation in international organisations are ongoing.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)