US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday suspending Washington's participation in dozens of UN agencies, commissions and advisory panels focused on climate, labour, migration and other issues his administration describes as promoting "woke" initiatives.
This means the US will withdraw from 66 international organisations including the UN climate treaty framework, marking the most extensive retreat from global cooperation in its modern history.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the institutions were "redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty."
"President Trump is clear: It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat, and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over," Rubio said in a statement following the decision.
The withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — the 1992 treaty underpinning the Paris climate agreement — leaves the US as the only country outside the global climate framework. Trump, who calls climate change a hoax, withdrew from the Paris agreement shortly after returning to the White House.
Trump's latest order drew sharp criticism from experts and former Washington officials.
Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate adviser, said the decision was "shortsighted, embarrassing and foolish." She warned the US was forfeiting its ability to influence trillions of dollars in climate investments and policies.
Climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project tracking global emissions, said the withdrawal "gives other nations the excuse to delay their own actions and commitments" on reducing greenhouse gases.
“The people of the US and the international community must come together to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the structures and tools we have fought for and won – imperfect though they may be – to advance climate justice and global justice," Niranjali Amerasinghe, executive director of ActionAid USA, said in reaction to the decision.
What is the US exiting?
The US will also exit the UN Population Fund, which provides sexual and reproductive health services worldwide. Trump cut funding to the agency during his first term over Republican accusations that it participated in coercive abortion practices in China, claims a 2022 State Department review found no evidence to support.
Other organisations on the withdrawal list include the Carbon Free Energy Compact, United Nations University, International Cotton Advisory Committee, International Tropical Timber Organisation, Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation and International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
The administration has already suspended support for the World Health Organization, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO. It has adopted what officials describe as an "à la carte" approach to UN funding, supporting only operations aligned with Trump's agenda.
Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group, said the approach represents "the crystallisation of the US approach to multilateralism, which is 'my way or the highway'".
The shift marks a departure from how both Republican and Democratic administrations historically engaged with the UN.
The world body has responded with staffing and programme cuts, while numerous nongovernmental organisations have closed projects after Trump slashed foreign assistance through USAID.
Trump administration officials said they want to focus resources on expanding US influence in UN standard-setting bodies where the US competes with China, including the International Telecommunications Union, International Maritime Organisation, and International Labour Organisation.
The withdrawals come as Trump has rattled allies and adversaries with military actions including the capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and threats to seize Greenland.
