{"id":36867,"date":"2025-02-06T18:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T13:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=36867"},"modified":"2025-08-08T12:41:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T07:11:00","slug":"us-withdrawal-from-unhrc-who-and-other-international-forums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-02-2025\/us-withdrawal-from-unhrc-who-and-other-international-forums","title":{"rendered":"US Withdrawal from UNHRC, WHO, and Other International Forums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Important International Institutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The United States has recently announced its withdrawal from several key international organizations, including the UNHRC, the WHO, and other international forums.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Instances of U.S. Withdrawal from International Forums<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC): <\/strong>US cited the <strong>UNHRC\u2019s \u2018chronic bias against Israel\u2019 <\/strong>and its failure to address genuine human rights concerns.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration stepping back from international agreements and organizations under its <strong>\u2019America First\u2019 <\/strong>policy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It accused the UNHRC of <strong>\u2018obsessively demonizing the one democracy in the Middle East\u2019<\/strong> and propagating <strong>antisemitism<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The US prohibits<strong> any future funding<\/strong> for the <strong>United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)<\/strong>, which provides aid to millions of Palestinians.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is important to note that the <strong>UNHRC has passed over 100 condemnatory resolutions against Israel,<\/strong> which<strong> amounts to more than 20% of all resolutions passed by the council<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong>: Reasons behind withdrawal are WHO\u2019s <strong>handling of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong> and its <strong>perceived bias towards China.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>US, being the largest financial contributor to the WHO<\/strong>, argued that the organization needed to be reformed to better serve its member states.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It could cost WHO $130 million in annual funds and hinder global public health response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other International Forums<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The US has <strong>reviewed its involvement<\/strong> in other international organizations, such as <strong>UNESCO and the <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-01-2025\/us-withdrew-from-paris-agreement\"><strong>Paris Climate Accord<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong>citing <strong><em>\u2018wild disparities\u2019<\/em><\/strong> in financial contributions among member countries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Earlier, US left <strong>UNESCO in 2017<\/strong>, citing an alleged anti-Israel bias within the organization. It echoed <strong>a similar withdrawal in 1984<\/strong> under President Ronald Reagan, which was reversed in 2003.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The US withdrew from<strong> the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)<\/strong> in 2017, citing the <strong>nee<\/strong><strong>d to protect American jobs and industries.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The remaining countries proceeded with a <strong>revised version<\/strong> called the <strong>Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implications of U.S. Withdrawal from International Forums<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weakening of Global Multilateralism: <\/strong>The<strong> repeated exits<\/strong> from key international organizations have raised concerns about the effectiveness of multilateralism. U.S. disengagement often <strong>leads to leadership vacuums <\/strong>that other nations, particularly China, have sought to fill.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geopolitical Power Shifts:<\/strong> China and Russia have leveraged U.S. withdrawals to strengthen their influence in global governance.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For instance,<strong> China has expanded its role<\/strong> within WHO, UNHRC, and trade agreements following US exits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Damage to Global Trust and Alliances: <\/strong>Frequent policy reversals, such as the <strong>U.S. leaving and then rejoining<\/strong> international agreements (e.g., Paris Climate Accord, WHO, and UNESCO), create uncertainty among allies and undermine trust in American commitments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Impact on Global Trade and Climate Policies: <\/strong>Withdrawal from agreements like the <strong>TPP and the Paris Climate Accord<\/strong> has had economic and environmental consequences.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The U.S. lost trade opportunities while other nations advanced regional agreements without it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Impact on UNRWA: <\/strong>UNRWA provides health, education, and aid services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The US had been the largest donor to UNRWA, contributing between $300 million and $400 million annually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reforms Needed in International Forums Amid US Withdrawal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Multilateralism:<\/strong> Organizations like WHO, WTO, and UN bodies suffer from funding shortfalls when major contributors (like the US) withdraw.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reforming financial structures\u2014such as mandatory contributions from all members\u2014can reduce dependency on a few nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expanding Representation in Global Decision-Making<\/strong>: Calls for expanding permanent UNSC membership (that remain dominated by post-WWII power structures) to include emerging powers like India, Brazil, and South Africa.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Revitalizing Climate Agreements:<\/strong> Strengthening compliance mechanisms and creating penalties for withdrawal could ensure sustained participation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As the US withdraws from key international forums, it is imperative to implement reforms that address transparency, representation, efficiency, and financial sustainability.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These reforms will help ensure that international organizations remain effective in promoting global cooperation and addressing the world&#8217;s most pressing challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/after-us-israel-withdraws-participation-from-un-human-rights-council\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: DD News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States has recently announced its withdrawal from several key international organizations, including the UNHRC, the WHO, and other international forums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36867"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36890,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36867\/revisions\/36890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}