WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order withdrawing Washington from a number of United Nations bodies, including its Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and setting up a broader review of US funding for the multilateral organization.
The executive order said it withdrew Washington from UNHRC and the main UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), and would review involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The moves were made in protest against what White House staff secretary Will Scharf described as “anti-American bias” at the UN agencies.
The 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council are elected by the General Assembly to three-year terms, with the United States ending its latest term on December 31. It currently has observer status at the body.
Tuesday’s order would appear to end all US participation in the council’s activities, which include reviews of countries’ human rights records and specific allegations of rights abuses.
“More generally, the executive order calls for review of American involvement and funding in the UN in light of the wild disparities and levels of funding among different countries,” said Scharf.
Trump highlighted the “tremendous potential” of the UN but said it is “not being well run.”
“It should be funded by everybody, but we’re disproportionate, as we always seem to be,” he said.
Trump has long railed against Washington’s levels of funding of multilateral bodies, calling for other countries to increase their contributions, notably at military alliance NATO.
UNRWA is the chief aid agency for Palestinians, with many of the 1.9 million people displaced by the war in Gaza dependent on its deliveries for survival.
Under Trump, Washington has backed a move by Israel to ban the agency, after the US ally accused UNRWA of spreading hate material.
US funding of UNRWA was halted in January 2024 by the administration of then-president Joe Biden after Israel accused 12 of its employees of involvement in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
A series of probes found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA, but found no evidence for Israel’s chief allegations, and most other donors that had similarly suspended funding resumed their financial support.
Earlier in his latest term, Trump also withdrew from the Paris climate accord and began withdrawing from the World Health Organization, of which it is the largest donor.
Each of the withdrawals has been a repeat of the Republican billionaire’s first term in office, which ended in 2021.
Trump signs order withdrawing US from UNRWA, UNESCO
https://arab.news/grx2d
Trump signs order withdrawing US from UNRWA, UNESCO
- UNRWA is the chief aid agency for Palestinians since 1949
- Trump said the UN is 'not being well run'
Australia holds day of reflection to honor victims of Bondi Beach attack
- The gun attack, Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years, is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews
SYDNEY: Australia held a day of reflection on Sunday to honor those killed and wounded in a mass shooting that targeted a seaside Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach a week ago.
The gun attack, Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years, is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Authorities have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further antisemitic violence.
Australian flags were flown at half-mast on Sunday on federal and New South Wales state government buildings, with an official minute of silence to be held at 6:47 p.m. local time.
Authorities also invited Australians to light a candle on Sunday night “as a quiet act of remembrance with family, friends or loved ones” of the 15 people killed and dozens wounded in the attack, allegedly carried out by a father and son.
“At 6:47 p.m., you can light a candle in your window to remember the victims of the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi and support those who are grieving,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on social media platform X late on Saturday.
Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his center-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since Israel launched its war in Gaza, has vowed to strengthen hate laws in the wake of the massacre.
On Saturday, the government of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, pledged to introduce a bill on Monday to ban the display of symbols and flags of “terrorist organizations,” including those of Al-Qaeda, Al Shabab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah and Daesh.
Around 1,000 surf lifesavers returned to duty at Bondi Beach on Saturday, restarting patrols after a halt sparked by the shooting on the first evening of the Jewish festival.
A day earlier, Australia’s Jewish community gathered at Bondi Beach for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers formed a huge circle in the waters off the beach to honor victims.
Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene. His 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, who was also shot by police and emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon, has been charged with 59 offenses, including murder and terrorism, according to police. He remained in custody in hospital.
Authorities believe the pair was inspired by militant Sunni Muslim group Daesh, with flags of the group allegedly found in the car the two took to Bondi.
