Trump pulls US from 66 'wasteful' international organizations, targeting Venice Commission, UN
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a directive to withdraw U.S. involvement and cut all funding to a number of international institutions, including United Nations agencies and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
The White House published an extensive list of the international organizations it deems "contrary to the interests of the United States" on Jan. 7.
"The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his press statement following the announcement.
Among the 31 non-UN organizations is the European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, founded in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The advisory body unites experts on constitutional law with the aim of providing legal advice and upholding international standards of democracy and human rights.
It has previously advised Ukraine on crucial legal reforms regarding judicial independence and minority rights that would further align the country with the EU.
The list further mentioned the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), an organization established to oversee the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in post-Soviet countries. Without financial support from one of its donor nations, the program may face a shortage of resources for research and continuity.
Additionally, the U.S. will also be withdrawing from 35 UN organizations, notably the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague. The organization evolved from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which persecuted individuals responsible for genocide in the respective countries.
The order comes as the latest advancement of Trump's "America First" policy that focuses on "American interests by redirecting focus and resources toward domestic priorities". According to Rubio, "The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over."
Since the start of its second term, the Trump administration has already withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Human Rights Council.
