February 4, 2025 | Flash Brief
UN ‘Not Living up to Potential’: Trump Signs Executive Order Withdrawing From UN Human Rights Council and Defunding UNRWA
February 4, 2025 | Flash Brief
UN ‘Not Living up to Potential’: Trump Signs Executive Order Withdrawing From UN Human Rights Council and Defunding UNRWA
Latest Developments
- Trump Removes United States From Anti-Israel UN Agencies: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 4 that withdraws the United States from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and prevents funding from going to UNRWA, the UN’s agency for the descendants of Palestinian refugees. “I’ve always felt that the UN has tremendous potential. It’s not living up to that potential right now … it hasn’t for a long time,” Trump told reporters.
- Biden Administration Rejoined Biased Council: The Trump administration previously withdrew from the UNHRC in 2018 because of the council’s anti-Israel bias and failure “to prevent the world’s worst human rights abusers from gaining … membership.” The Biden administration rejoined the council as a full member in 2022. The council maintains a permanent agenda item focusing on Israel — the only permanent agenda item focusing on a single nation — and an open-ended commission of inquiry into Israel.
- UNRWA Has Ties With Hamas, Perpetuates Hate: While the United States temporarily paused funding for UNRWA in January 2024 after it was discovered that several of the agency’s employees participated in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, Trump’s executive order prohibits funding for the agency in future. Throughout its existence, UNRWA has perpetuated the victimization of Palestinians, classifying subsequent generations descended from Palestinian refugees as refugees in perpetuity — the only instance when subsequent generations are so defined — and perpetuating antisemitism in the school curriculum it uses in its numerous schools throughout the region. In 2023, U.S. funds made up nearly 30 percent of the agency’s funding.
FDD Expert Response
“In two strokes of the pen, the president is taking aim at two of the biggest sponsors of antisemitism in the world. UNRWA is a front for Hamas that raises Palestinians to hate Jews and Israel. The so-called Human Rights Council is an anti-American, pro-Beijing body that dedicates enormous time and resources to delegitimizing Israel and promoting a modern-day blood libel against the world’s only Jewish state. The United States shouldn’t just abandon these organizations; we should actively seek their dismantlement.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor
“The UNHRC has always been a den of dictators seeking to distract from their crimes by erecting Inquisition courts for Israel. Trump’s order is a positive move in eroding any undue respect the council holds. The UNHRC doesn’t need a makeover; it needs a full demolition and then — maybe — reconstruction.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
FDD Background and Analysis
“As UN ramps up pressure on Israel, lame-duck Biden is letting history repeat,” by Richard Goldberg
“Here’s how Elise Stefanik can put Trump’s America First agenda to work at the UN,” by Richard Goldberg
“UN Rapporteurs Call for Arms Embargo on Israel,” FDD Flash Brief
“The unmaking of the United Nations,” by Clifford D. May