Trump Announces US Withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council and Terminates Funding to UNRWA

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council and that it will not resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) the Associated Press reports.

Trump made the two announcements during an official visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and amid his additional declarations that the United States will “take over” Gaza and “own it” and turn it into the equivalent of the French Riviera for “all people” after permanently moving the two million Indigenous Gaza Palestinians out to other countries.

The United Nations Human Rights Council consists of 47 Member States elected directly and individually by a majority of the 193 states of the UN General Assembly. Elections take place every year. The United States and Israel have criticized the Council for being overly critical of Israel. Trump withdrew the US from the council during his first 2016-2020 term, and the Biden administration announced in September last year that the US would not be seeking reelection to the body.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Arabs who fled or were forced to leave their homes during Israel’s war of independence in 1948. In the aftermath of the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, the Biden administration suspended funding to UNRWA following reports that a number of staffers in the organization were also members of Hamas. Trump has now said funding to UNRWA will not be resumed.

“I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It’s not living up to that potential right now. … They’ve got to get their act together.”

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