President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Tuesday officially withdrawing the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and cutting off future funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to Gaza.
This decision, reported by Politico, follows growing concerns over the UNHRC’s alleged anti-Israel bias and the recent controversy surrounding UNRWA staffers and their potential links to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
The UNHRC, currently chaired by Swiss Ambassador Jürg Lauber, has long been accused of disproportionate criticism of Israel.
The executive order explicitly states that the council has demonstrated persistent bias against Israel by overwhelmingly targeting it in resolutions compared to nations with known human rights violations.
According to the Trump administration, the 2018 withdrawal from the UNHRC during his first term was based on similar concerns. That year, the council passed more resolutions condemning Israel than those condemning Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined.
Now, Trump is reinstating that policy, reinforcing his stance that the United Nations’ human rights body lacks credibility and fails to uphold its mission fairly.
Trump’s executive order will also permanently halt U.S. funding for UNRWA, the