The President of United States, Donald Trump, has 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, and would review involvement in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO.
According to Trump, 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, as it currently has observer status at the body.
The 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.
