Washington: According to a report by Politico, US President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order which will officially withdraw the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and halt further funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
A White House official confirmed that the executive order’s signing, initially scheduled for an earlier date, has been rescheduled for Tuesday.
The UNHRC, tasked with addressing human rights violations and promoting human rights globally, has come under fire from the White House. A fact sheet obtained by Politico criticized the council for its inability to fulfill its mandate, accusing it of protecting countries with poor human rights records. The document further highlighted the council’s bias against Israel, noting that in 2018, the UNHRC passed more resolutions denouncing Israel than it did against Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined—the year Trump first withdrew the US from the body.
The UNRWA, a relief organization dedicated to assisting Palestinian refugees, has been subject to increasing pressure, including a recent Israeli directive mandating that the agency cease operations in East Jerusalem. Despite this, UNRWA remains committed to providing aid and services across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including ongoing humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
This move comes as part of President Trump’s broader foreign policy agenda and is likely to have significant implications for the UN’s humanitarian efforts and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
