Federal Register, Withdrawing the United States from and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations and Reviewing United States Support to All International Organizations, Executive Order 14199, February 4, 2025
Removes the United States from the UN Human Rights Council and initiates scrutiny for US involvement in other entities such as the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Removes funding for any of these entities under scrutiny and calls for review of other funding and membership devoted to international intergovernmental bodies.
From the Order:
Section 1. Purpose. The United States helped found the United Nations (UN) after World War II to prevent future global conflicts and promote international peace and security. But some of the UN's agencies and bodies have drifted from this mission and instead act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism. As in 2018, when the United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the United States will reevaluate our commitment to these institutions.
Three UN organizations that deserve renewed scrutiny are the UNHRC; the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. UNHRC has protected human rights abusers by allowing them to use the organization to shield themselves from scrutiny, while UNESCO has demonstrated failure to reform itself, has continually demonstrated anti-Israel sentiment over the past decade, and has failed to address concerns over mounting arrears.