https://sputnikglobe.com/20260110/whats-driving-the-gradual-us-withdrawal-from-un-agencies-1123446656.html
What’s Driving the Gradual US Withdrawal From UN Agencies?
What’s Driving the Gradual US Withdrawal From UN Agencies?
Sputnik International
The US is pulling out because it “would be happy if the UN were to disappear,” former UN Independent Expert on International Order Alfred de Zayas tells Sputnik.
2026-01-10T09:58+0000
2026-01-10T09:58+0000
2026-01-10T09:58+0000
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Washington is withdrawing from 31 UN bodies and three dozen other international organizations, agencies, and commissions, according to a memorandum released earlier this week. So far, the US has not contacted the UN to officially announce its decision, according to the organization. The US administration previously suspended support for UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, the World Health Organization, and the UN Human Rights Council. Meanwhile, the US has long been the largest donor to the UN, contributing 22% of the organization’s regular budget in 2025 – $820.4 million out of a net total of $3.5 billion. The UN has warned that Washington’s move could affect the funding of the organization’s agencies. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric insisted that “assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and the peacekeeping budget are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all member states, including the US.” According to de Zayas, Washington views the UN as an obstacle, as it has repeatedly subjected US administrations to criticism, including over Gaza, Venezuela, and freedom of navigation. While UN structures have been criticized by many parties, de Zayas argues that this does not justify depriving the organization of funding or dismantling it altogether. International law remains necessary even as UN agencies require reform, he says.
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un agencies, the us halts support to un organizations, international law, international order, un reforms, washington, donald trump, venezuela, maduro's capture, un funding
un agencies, the us halts support to un organizations, international law, international order, un reforms, washington, donald trump, venezuela, maduro's capture, un funding
What’s Driving the Gradual US Withdrawal From UN Agencies?
The US is pulling out because it “would be happy if the UN were to disappear,” former UN Independent Expert on International Order Alfred de Zayas tells Sputnik.
Washington is withdrawing from 31 UN bodies and three dozen other international organizations, agencies, and commissions, according to a memorandum released earlier this week. So far, the US has not contacted the UN to officially announce its decision, according to the organization.
The US administration previously suspended support for UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, the World Health Organization, and the UN Human Rights Council.
Meanwhile, the US has long been the largest donor to the UN, contributing 22% of the organization’s regular budget in 2025 – $820.4 million out of a net total of $3.5 billion.
The UN has warned that Washington’s move could affect the funding of the organization’s agencies. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric insisted that “assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and the peacekeeping budget are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all member states, including the US.”
According to de Zayas, Washington views the UN as an obstacle, as it has repeatedly subjected US administrations to criticism, including over Gaza,
Venezuela, and
freedom of navigation.
While UN structures have been criticized by many parties, de Zayas argues that this does not justify depriving the organization of funding or dismantling it altogether. International law remains necessary even as UN agencies require reform, he says.
“I criticize many international organizations, including the ICC, the IAEA, and the OPCW. Undoubtedly, they have been penetrated and now work largely in the service of the ‘collective West.’ In my book The Human Rights Industry, I show how this can be fixed,” he adds.
