The US president is expected to sign the orders cutting ties and funds to the UN agencies as Netanyahu visits the White House.
United States President Donald Trump is planning to cut off US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a funding ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, an unnamed White House official told US media outlets.
US news media, including Politico and NPR, reported on Monday that Trump was expected to sign an executive order withdrawing from the two UN bodies on Tuesday, the same day the White House is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime critic of the UN, and UNRWA in particular.
Since taking office for a second term on January 20, Trump has already withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris climate agreement, which he also withdrew from during his first term – a move that was later reversed by the Biden administration.
Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the UN Human Rights Council would also not be a first for Trump, who withdrew from the council in his first term.
When the Trump administration quit the Human Rights Council in 2018, Trump’s then-UN envoy Nikki Haley claimed the move was due to “chronic bias” against Israel from the body, which is made up of 47 UN member states who are elected for four-year terms.
The council conducts periodic reviews of the human rights records of UN member states, including the US, which is due to undergo its next review in August.
During the council’s last review of the US in 2020, countries offered recommendations on how Washington might improve its human rights record, including by tackling racism and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.
The council is also responsible for appointing human rights experts to serve as independent UN special rapporteurs.
