- The United States will withdraw from 35 non-UN groups and 31 UN entities.
- Trump cites conflict with US interests for withdrawal.
- The move reflects Trump's skepticism toward multilateral institutions.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of U.N. and international entities, including a key climate treaty and a U.N. body that promotes gender equality and women's empowerment, because they “operate against U.S. national interests.”
Among the 35 non-U.N. groups and 31 U.N. entities that Trump listed in a memo, opens a new tab for senior administration officials is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, described by many as the “foundational” climate treaty that is the core agreement of the 2015 Paris climate accord.
The United States skipped the annual U.N. international climate summit last year for the first time in three decades.
“The United States would be the first country to leave the UNFCCC,” said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“All other nations are members, in part because they recognize that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive policies and economic opportunities,” Bapna said.
The United States will also leave UN Women, which works for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the international organization's agency focused on family planning and maternal and child health in more than 150 countries. The United States cut its funding for UNFPA last year.
“For United Nations entities, withdrawal means ceasing participation in or funding of those entities to the extent permitted by law,” the memo reads. Trump has already greatly cut voluntary funding to most UN agencies.
A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump distrusts multilateral organizations
Trump's move reflects his long-standing distrust of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations. He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost and accountability of international organizations, arguing that they often do not serve American interests.
Since beginning his second term a year ago, Trump has sought to cut U.S. funding to the United Nations, halted U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended the suspension of funding for the Palestinian aid agency UNRWA, and abandoned the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO. He has also announced plans to leave the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement.
Other entities on the US list are the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Energy Forum, the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
The White House said the dozens of entities Washington sought to exit as soon as possible promote “radical climate policies, global governance and ideological programs that conflict with the sovereignty and economic strength of the United States.”
