The US president is expected to sign the orders cutting ties and funds to the UN agencies as Netanyahu visits the White House.
United States President Donald Trump is planning to cut off US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and extend a funding ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, an unnamed White House official told US media outlets.
US news media, including Politico and NPR, reported on Monday that Trump was expected to sign an executive order withdrawing from the two UN bodies on Tuesday, the same day the White House is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime critic of the UN, and UNRWA in particular.
Since taking office for a second term on January 20, Trump has already withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris climate agreement, which he also withdrew from during his first term – a move that was later reversed by the Biden administration.
Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the UN Human Rights Council would also not be a first for Trump, who withdrew from the council in his first term.
When the Trump administration quit the Human Rights Council in 2018, Trump’s then-UN envoy Nikki Haley claimed the move was due to “chronic bias” against Israel from the body, which is made up of 47 UN member states who are elected for four-year terms.
The council conducts periodic reviews of the human rights records of UN member states, including the US, which is due to undergo its next review in August.
During the council’s last review of the US in 2020, countries offered recommendations on how Washington might improve its human rights record, including by tackling racism and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison. The council is also responsible for appointing human rights experts to serve as independent UN special rapporteurs.
Several UN special rapporteurs have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, including, most notably, the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese.
As an elected member of the council, most recently from 2022-2024, the US has also leveraged its position to criticise the human rights record of other countries.
UNRWA order comes as Netanyahu visits White House
Trump’s plan to sign another executive order specifically targeting the embattled UNRWA coincides with Netanyahu’s visit to the White House.
According to a UNRWA situation report, Israeli forces killed 272 UNRWA staff members during Israel’s 15-month onslaught on the Gaza Strip and repeatedly attacked UNRWA buildings, including schools where thousands of Palestinians were seeking shelter.
In October, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed two bills banning UNRWA operations within Israel’s borders, including occupied East Jerusalem, which came into effect last week. Founded by the UN General Assembly in 1949, UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor, providing $300m to $400m a year, but Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel made unfounded accusations about a dozen UNRWA staff taking part in the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas.
Although an independent report found that Israeli authorities did not provide evidence for their claims to the UN, the US Congress decided to formally suspend contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. The UN later found that nine employees may have been involved in the attack and were fired.
UNRWA is playing a vital role in Gaza’s recovery as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold between Israel and Hamas.
Trump and Netanyahu are expected to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire deal when they meet.
Speaking after Netanyahu arrived in the US on Monday, Trump said there were “no guarantees” that the ceasefire deal would hold.