- Marking a Shift in Multilateral Relations
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions, following a comprehensive review of the administration’s participation in and funding for international entities, including those affiliated with the United Nations, according to a White House release.
The majority of the targeted organisations are U.N.-related agencies, commissions, and advisory panels that focus on climate, labour, migration, and other issues that the Trump administration has categorised as promoting diversity and “woke” initiatives.
Among the non-U.N. organisations on the list are the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
“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 stated.
Trump’s decision to withdraw from organizations that foster international cooperation comes as his administration has launched military efforts and issued threats that have rattled both allies and adversaries. This includes the capture of autocratic Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and indications of an intention to take over Greenland.
The administration had previously suspended support from various agencies, including the World Health Organization, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the U.N. Human Rights Council, and the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. This reflects a larger, selective approach to paying dues to international bodies, opting for operations and agencies that align with Trump’s agenda while disregarding those that do not serve U.S. interests.
“I think what we’re seeing is the crystallisation of the U.S. approach to multilateralism, which is ‘my way or the highway,’” said Daniel Forti, head of U.N. affairs at the International Crisis Group. “It’s a very clear vision of wanting international cooperation on Washington’s own terms.”
This marks a significant departure from how previous administrations—both Republican and Democratic—have engaged with the U.N., compelling the organisation, already undergoing internal scrutiny, to respond with a series of staffing and programme cuts.
Numerous independent non-governmental agencies, some collaborating with the United Nations, have reported project closures due to the U.S. administration’s decision to cut foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Despite these drastic changes, U.S. officials, including Trump himself, have expressed a desire to see the potential of the U.N. and want to focus taxpayer money on enhancing American influence in competitive U.N. initiatives against China, such as the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization, and the International Labour Organization.
The withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the latest effort by Trump and his allies to distance the U.S. from international organisations focused on climate issues. The UNFCCC, established in 1992 between 198 countries to financially support climate change activities in developing nations, serves as the foundation for the landmark Paris climate agreement. Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a hoax, withdrew from that agreement shortly after taking office.
Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Adviser, called the move “short-sighted, embarrassing, and a foolish decision.” She stated, “As the only country in the world not part of the UNFCCC treaty, the Trump administration is throwing away decades of U.S. climate change leadership and global collaboration. This Administration is forfeiting our country’s ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would have advanced our economy and protected us from costly disasters wreaking havoc on our country.”
Mainstream scientists warn that climate change is linked to the increasing frequency of deadly and costly extreme weather events, including floods, droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall events, and dangerous heat. The U.S. withdrawal could hinder global efforts to curb greenhouse gases as it “gives other nations the excuse to delay their own actions and commitments,” according to Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, a group of scientists tracking countries’ carbon dioxide emissions.
Experts assert that achieving meaningful progress on climate change will be exceedingly difficult without cooperation from the U.S., one of the world’s largest emitters and economies.
The U.N.’s population agency, which provides sexual and reproductive health services globally, has long been a focal point of Republican opposition, and Trump cut funding for the agency during his first term. He and other GOP officials have accused the agency of engaging in “coercive abortion practices” in countries like China. When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he restored funding for the agency, and a State Department review conducted the following year found no evidence to support GOP claims.
Other organizations and agencies that the U.S. will be withdrawing from 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 indicated that additional reviews are ongoing.
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