Trump says UN has to ‘get its act together’; UN pushes back
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US President Donald Trump on Feb 4 extended a halt to funding for UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump criticised the United Nations on Feb 4 as “not being well run”, although he said it has potential, as he stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of UN cultural agency Unesco.
“It’s got great potential and based on the potential, we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together,” Mr Trump told reporters. “It’s not being well run, to be honest, and they’re not doing the job.
“A lot of these conflicts that we’re working on should be settled, or at least, we should have some help in settling them. We never seem to get help. That should be the primary purpose of the United Nations.”
The UN pushed back against Mr Trump’s remarks.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “has worked tirelessly to implement many reforms... to increase efficiency and innovation”, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“US support for the United Nations has saved countless lives and advanced global security,” Mr Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General looks forward to continuing his productive relationship with President Trump and the US government to strengthen that relationship in today’s turbulent world.”
The 15-member UN Security Council, of which the US is one of five permanent members, is charged with maintaining international peace and security.
Mr Trump said he was not looking to take away money from the 193-member world body, though he complained that Washington had to pay a disproportionate amount.
Washington is the UN’s largest contributor – followed by China – accounting for 22 per cent of the core UN budget and 27 per cent of the peacekeeping budget.
The UN has said that the US currently owes a total of US$2.8 billion (S$3.78 billion), of which US$1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.
Mr Trump’s order on Feb 4 was largely symbolic and mirrored moves he made during his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021.
The signing on Feb 4 coincided with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing it of anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being “involved in terrorist activities against Israel”.
UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said last week that the agency has been the target of a “fierce disinformation campaign” to “portray the agency as a terrorist organisation”.
The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor – providing US$300 million to US$400 million a year – but then President Joe Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct 7, 2023, attack
The US Congress then formally suspended contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The UN has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct 7, 2023, attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations made and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.
An Israeli ban went into effect on Jan 30 that prohibits UNRWA from operating on its territory or communicating with Israeli authorities. UNRWA has said operations in Gaza and West Bank will also suffer.
During Mr Trump’s first term in office, he also cut off funding for UNRWA, saying that Palestinians needed to agree to renew peace talks with Israel, and calling for unspecified reforms.
The first Trump administration also quit the 47-member Human Rights Council halfway through a three-year term over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform.
The US is not currently a member of the Geneva-based body. Under former president Joe Biden, the US served a 2022-2024 term.
A council working group is due to review the US human rights record later in 2025, a process all countries undergo every few years.
While the council has no legally binding power, its debates carry political weight and criticism can raise global pressure on governments to change course.
Mr Trump’s executive order on Feb 4 also asks Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review international organisations, conventions or treaties that “promote radical or anti-American sentiment”.
He specified that the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation should be reviewed first because Washington had previously accused it of anti-Israel bias.
The United States and Israel announced in 2017 that they were quitting Unesco for that reason.
Washington has already withheld its funding for Unesco since 2011, when the body admitted the Palestinians as a full member. REUTERS
