Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council
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US Quits UNHRC, Stops Funding UNRWA
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Above: A woman is seen among the makeshift tents at a school affiliated with UNRWA in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on Jan. 29, 2025. Image copyright: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu/Contributor via Getty Image
The Facts
On Tuesday, US Pres. Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and extend a funding ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which Israel has accused of aiding terrorism.
Trump's move on UNRWA, an agency the US has accused of aiding governments with human rights abuses, reinstates the policies of the Biden administration.
The Biden admin. froze UNRWA funding last year over its members' alleged involvement in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Since Trump took office, the US has withdrawn from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate deal as well.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Trump’s decision to defund UNRWA and withdraw from the UNHRC is an essential step in ending US complicity in an agency that has long fueled extremism. UNRWA has been tied to Hamas, perpetuating incitement and violence rather than fostering peace. American taxpayers should not fund an entity that undermines Israel’s security and stability. By cutting the US' ties with it, Trump has upheld moral clarity, ensuring that aid does not sustain terror and instead supports true reform and accountability.
Establishment-critical narrative
Trump’s decision to pull US funding for UNRWA is a morally bankrupt act of collective punishment, abandoning millions of innocent Palestinians to starvation and disease. The justification — a handful of unproven accusations — defies the principles of due process, individual guilt, and basic humanity. This move directly sabotages the humanitarian aid the International Court of Justice has deemed essential. By appeasing Israeli political interests, the US fully has embraced complicity in the suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian people.
