Trump administration withdraws from 66 international organizations, continuing to move away from global cooperation

The administration of US President Donald Trump will withdraw from dozens of international organizations, including the UN Population Agency and a UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the US further retreats from global cooperation, AP reports, writes UNN.

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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending US support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions after his administration conducted a review of participation and funding for all international organizations, including those associated with the United Nations, according to a White House release.

Many targets are UN-affiliated agencies, commissions, and advisory groups focused on climate, labor, migration, and other issues that the Trump administration has classified as serving diversity and "woke" initiatives. Other non-UN organizations on the list include the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the publication writes.

"The Trump administration has found these institutions to be excessive in scope, inefficient in governance, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly managed, captured by the interests of actors promoting their own interests contrary to ours, or posing a threat to our country's sovereignty, freedoms, and overall prosperity," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump's decision to withdraw from organizations that promote cooperation among countries to address global challenges comes as his administration has launched military efforts or issued threats that have rattled both allies and adversaries, including the capture of Venezuela's autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro and the intention to acquire Greenland, the publication indicates.

The administration had previously suspended support for agencies 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. It adopted a broader, individualized approach to contributions to the world body, identifying operations and agencies it believed aligned with Trump's agenda and those that no longer served US interests.

"I think what we're seeing is a crystallization of the US approach to multilateral cooperation, which sounds like 'my way or the highway,'" said Daniel Forti, head of UN relations at the International Crisis Group. "It's a very clear vision of international cooperation on Washington's own terms."

This, the publication writes, marked a significant shift from how previous administrations — both Republican and Democratic — dealt with the UN, and it forced the world body to respond with a series of staff and program cuts.

Many independent non-governmental organizations, some of which work with the United Nations, cited the closure of many projects due to the US administration's decision last year to cut foreign aid through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Despite the sweeping changes, Trump administration officials say they see the potential of the UN and instead want to focus taxpayer money on expanding American influence in many standard UN initiatives where there is competition with China, such as the International Telecommunication Union, the International Maritime Organization, and the International Labour Organization, the publication writes.

The withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the latest attempt by Trump and his allies to distance the US from international organizations focused on climate and combating climate change, the publication notes.

The UNFCCC, a 1992 agreement among 198 countries to financially support climate change activities in developing countries, is the foundational treaty for the landmark Paris Climate Agreement. Trump, who calls climate change a hoax, withdrew from that agreement shortly after taking office in the White House.

Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate advisor, said being the only country in the world not party to the treaty is a "shortsighted, embarrassing, and foolish decision."

"This administration is losing our country's ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that would advance our economy and protect us from costly disasters harming our country," said McCarthy, co-chair of the "America Is All In" coalition of US states and cities concerned about climate issues.

It will also be difficult to make significant progress in combating climate change without cooperation from the US, one of the largest emitters and largest economies in the world, experts note.

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The UN Population Fund, an agency that provides sexual and reproductive health worldwide, has long been a lightning rod for Republican opposition, and Trump cut its funding during his first term. He and other Republican officials accused the agency of participating in "coercive abortion practices" in countries like China.

When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he restored funding to the agency. A State Department review conducted the following year found no evidence to support the Republican claims.

Other organizations and agencies from which the US will withdraw include the Carbon-Free Energy Treaty, the United Nations University, the International Cotton Advisory Committee, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies, and the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.

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