On Wednesday, January 7, the US President said that the United States would withdraw from a dozen UN and international entities, the entities include a key UN body that promotes women’s empowerment and gender equality and a climate treaty. According to Donald Trump, these treaties operate in a way that is contrary to the United States national interests.
Trump has listed 35 non-UN groups and 31 UN entities in a memo. The memo will be sent to senior administration officials. The list includes the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is described as a bedrock climate treaty which is the parent agreement to the 2015 Paris climate deal.
It is also important to note that the United States skipped the annual UN international climate summit last year for the first time in decades.
The President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defence Council, Manish Bapna, said thatthe US would be the first company to walk away from the UNFCCC.
Bapna further added that every nation is a member because they recognise the importance of the convention. Not just the moral imperative of addressing climate change, but the negotiations in the convention give the ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity.
The US will also be quitting UN Women, which works for the empowerment of women and gender equality. The country will also be leaving the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the body that is focused on maternal and child health in over 150 countries. The US also cut its funding for the UNFPA last year.
According to the memo withdrawal means that US will not participate in the listed entities anymore, and neither will fund them. The voluntary funding to most UN agencies has already been slashed by Trump.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson was asked to comment, but he did not respond to it.
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