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	Trump Administration announces withdrawal from dozens of international organizations by UN News, OHCHR, agencies   Jan. 2026   Trump Administration announces withdrawal from dozens of international organizations. (UN News, agencies)   United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed regret over the decision by the United States to withdraw from a number of UN entities, while underscoring that the system will continue to deliver on all its mandates.   “As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all Member States, including the United States”.   The presidential memorandum directs US executive departments and agencies to take immediate steps to withdraw from dozens of international organizations, conventions and treaties claimed by the Trump Administration to be "contrary" to US interests.   According to the US memorandum, the decision affects 31 UN agencies and entities. These include:   The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports maternal and child health, and combatting sexual and gender-based violence; The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which fosters global cooperation against climate change.   (The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are included on the US list);   The UN Democracy Fund, which funds and mentors civil society projects for democracy; other offices of the UN Secretariat such as those dealing with children in armed conflict and ending sexual violence as a weapon of war.   The list also includes four of the five UN regional commissions (Asia-Pacific, Western Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean), which are key platforms for multilateral cooperation.   For UN entities, “withdrawal means ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law,” the US memorandum states.   Despite the announcement, the UN Secretary-General stressed that the work of the Organization would continue.   “All United Nations entities will go on with the implementation of their mandates as given by Member States,” the statement said.   “The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us. We will continue to carry out our mandates with determination.”   Under the UN Charter, assessed contributions to the Organization’s regular and peacekeeping budgets are approved by the General Assembly and are considered binding obligations for all Member States.   For 2026, the General Assembly approved $3.45 billion regular budget – a sharp reduction from previous years – including a 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.   Responding specifically to the US decision to withdraw from UNFCCC, its Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the move marked a step back from global climate cooperation.   “The United States was instrumental in creating the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, because they are both entirely in its national interests,” Mr. Stiell said.   “While all other nations are stepping forward together, this latest step back from global leadership, climate cooperation and science can only harm the US economy, jobs and living standards, as wildfires, floods, mega-storms and droughts get rapidly worse. It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous.”   Mr. Stiell noted that UNFCCC would keep working, adding, “the doors remain open for the US to re-enter in the future, as it has in the past with the Paris Agreement.”   The withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the latest move by Trump and his allies to distance the US from international climate efforts. The UNFCCC, a 1992 agreement among 198 countries, underpins the landmark Paris climate accord. Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, withdrew from that agreement soon after returning to the White House.   Mainstream scientists say climate change is driving increasingly deadly and costly extreme weather, including floods, droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall and dangerous heat.   Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, said the US withdrawal could hinder global efforts to curb greenhouse gases by giving other countries an excuse to delay their own commitments. Experts also warned meaningful progress would be more difficult without cooperation from the US, one of the world’s largest emitters and economies.   The Trump administration had already suspended support for bodies such as the World Health Organization, the GAVI Global Child Vaccination program, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN cultural agency UNESCO.   It follows drastic funding cuts to the World Food Programme, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNAIDS, OCHA and global humanitarian assistance agencies. Funding for humanitarian non government organisations has also been dramatically cut. The USAID budget was cut by some $60 billion dollars in 2025 with highly negative impacts for vulnerable people worldwide.   Jan. 2025   International cooperation is fraying at the moment it is most needed. (UN News)   In his annual address UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is “brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability” – even as international cooperation is fraying at the moment it is most needed.   Speaking in the UN General Assembly, he said the global system was under unprecedented strain from wars, division, climate breakdown and the erosion of respect for international law.   “The context is chaos,” Mr. Guterres told delegates. “We are a world brimming with conflict, impunity, inequality and unpredictability.”   At a time when geopolitical divisions are widening amid cuts to development and humanitarian funding, Mr. Guterres said multilateralism itself was being tested.   “That is the paradox of our era: at a time when we need international cooperation the most, we seem to be the least inclined to use it and invest in it,” he said, adding: “Some seek to put international cooperation on deathwatch. I can assure you: we will not give up.”   The UN chief highlighted ongoing UN engagement on conflicts from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and Yemen, while stressing that silencing the guns alone would not be enough.   “Peace is more than the absence of war,” he said, arguing that poverty, lack of development, inequality and weak institutions continue to fuel violence. “Sustainable peace requires sustainable development.”   Mr. Guterres was blunt about what he described as the visible erosion of international law. “The erosion of international law is not happening in the shadows. It is unfolding before the eyes of the world”, he said.   He pointed to attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, unconstitutional changes of government, silencing of dissent, trampling of human rights, and plundering of resources.   He also raised alarm about the growing concentration of wealth and power, noting that the richest one per cent now hold 43 per cent of global financial assets. “This level of concentration is morally indefensible,” he said.   Mr. Guterres also highlighted the challenges of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, cautioning that algorithms shaping public life must not be controlled by just a handful of companies. “We must ensure humanity steers technology, not the other way around,” he said.   Turning to climate change, the Secretary-General warned that a world in climate chaos “cannot be a world at peace,” stressing that while a temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C temperature threshold was now inevitable, it was not irreversible. He urged faster emissions cuts, a just transition away from fossil fuels and scaled-up climate finance.   Mr. Guterres also underscored the need for reform of global institutions, including international financial bodies and the Security Council, arguing that “1945 problem-solving will not solve 2026 problems.” Structures that fail to reflect today’s world, he warned, would lose legitimacy.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166772 http://www.un.org/pga/80/2026/01/21/pga-remarks-at-the-session-who-brokers-trust-now-world-economic-forum-davos/   * PassBlue interview with Fernando Travesí-Sanz, executive director of the New York City-based International Center for Transitional Justice. (Extract):   PassBlue: We’ve seen the UN increasingly discredited over the past couple of years by leaders, such as US President Trump. Have you felt any impacts of this delegitimization in your field and work?   T-S: That’s a tough question. The UN has become, in some countries, the target of very clear political agendas. There is a clear erosion of the role and the value of the UN; as a result, there is an attack on the international legal framework that the UN represents, which, for me, is the most important part. The institution has room for improvement, yes, but it plays a role in defending, embodying and representing an international legal framework of rule of law, human rights and humanitarian law that the world has agreed on. We should regard the attack on the UN as an attack on the framework itself. Attacking the UN is not just attacking the institution. It’s attacking the principles, the values, the Charter, the international human rights framework. It’s an attack on multilateralism. It’s an attack on cooperation.   The US’ dismantling of its cooperation programs with the UN has impacted support for transitional justice processes all over the world. As soon as you dismantle international cooperation mechanisms, it affects humanitarian assistance, it affects global health, global education and global rule of law, justice and accountability and protection of human rights. It affects financial support, but also the lack of attention or value to the principles of justice for all, accountability and fighting for security.   http://passblue.com/2026/03/15/michelle-bachelet-running-for-un-chief-says-global-cooperation-can-save-humanity/   * Ahead of the Munich Security Conference: Amnesty chief warns attacks on international law are undermining global security. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard:   “It’s already clear that 2026 will be a year of immense global security challenges. The Trump administration’s act of aggression against Venezuela and its ongoing threats of military action in Colombia, Greenland, Iran and Mexico have laid bare its ‘might-is-right’ approach to foreign policy and complete disregard for international law. At the same time, Israel has refused to end its war against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, despite the supposed ceasefire, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is set to drag on into its fifth year, with no end in sight to the unlawful attacks on Ukrainian civilians,” said Agnes Callamard.   “Now is not the time for states to imitate, appease, or capitulate in the face of bullies. The military aggressions and economic bullying of some states, coupled with the complicity and cowardice of many, have brought the multilateral, rules-based order to its knees. But this does not mean it was or is an illusion. And it certainly does not mean we should abandon the principles behind it.   The safety of billions of people around the world relies on us revindicating the post-World War II spirit and strengthening international law and human rights protections. This means, for example, reforming the UN Security Council’s veto and membership rules, protecting bodies like the International Criminal Court, and rethinking the international legal system to make it fit for purpose in today’s tumultuous world.   “World leaders must find their backbones and seize on forums like the Munich Security Conference as opportunities to plot collective resistance to the attacks on international law that endanger us all. The bullies must be stopped. Humanity must win.”   EU’s head of foreign policy says No country is above international law.   Speaking at a panel during the Munich Security Conference, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the current global order must be reformed to ensure that no country is above international law. She said that major international crises have historically led to the development of international cooperation, but argued that what is currently missing is accountability.   "Everybody signs up to the United Nations Charter, the principles are there. But what happens if somebody breaches those principles? The accountability is clearly not working," Kallas said.   "The UN Security Council is not working the way it was meant to be. The United Nations is not reflecting the world as it currently is," she added. "If we reform, then we should actually take into account the world as it currently is, where all the states are equal, and also that nobody is above the law," Kallas said, emphasizing that even the "most powerful countries" must face consequences if they violate agreed rules.   In response to a question about repeated ceasefire violations by Israel in Gaza and who would hold it accountable, Kallas reiterated her call for the equal application of international law.   Addressing questions about the US-led Gaza "Board of Peace" linked to a UN Security Council resolution, Kallas noted that the original resolution envisaged a time-limited mechanism and included Palestinian participation, while current proposals do not fully reflect those elements.   Kaja Kallas, warned that Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” was a personal vehicle for the US president that removed any accountability to Palestinians or the United Nations.   Kallas said the original purpose of the UN resolution and mandate had been to help Gaza through a Board of Peace, but this had been subverted since the board’s charter now made no reference to Gaza or to the UN. She said it was true that the UN security council resolution “provided for a Board of Peace for Gaza, but it also provided for it to be limited in time until 2027, it provided for the Palestinians to have a say, and it referred to Gaza, whereas the statute of the Board of Peace makes no reference to any of these things”.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166722 http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166736 http://www.unfccc.int/news/step-back-from-climate-cooperation-will-hurt-us-economy-statement-from-un-climate-chief-on-us http://www.ipbes.net/node/95839 http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/statement-committee-elimination-discrimination-against-women-united http://www.crisisgroup.org/qna/global-united-states/new-us-aid-conditions-threaten-un-work-women-peace-and-security http://insideclimatenews.org/news/08012026/trump-international-climate-treaties-withdrawal/ http://www.ucs.org/about/news/trump-sinks-new-low-announcing-us-withdrawal-66-international-organizations-including http://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/2025-in-review http://www.dw.com/en/the-impact-of-us-withdrawal-from-global-climate-pacts/a-75434090 http://www.ipsnews.net/2026/01/u-s-withdrawal-from-organizations-triggers-global-alarm/ http://passblue.com/2026/01/08/the-us-has-yet-to-notify-the-un-about-washingtons-withdrawal-from-entities/ http://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/31936:education-international-condemns-us-withdrawal-from-international-organisations-conventions-and-treaties http://www.ciel.org/news/trump-executive-order-withdraws-un-climate-pacts http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/01/usa-international-withdrawals-tear-apart-global-cooperation/ http://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2026-who-statement-on-notification-of-withdrawal-of-the-united-states   Jan. 2026   Trump’s absurd ‘Board of Peace’ is a travesty of international law, by Jeffrey D. Sachs.   The UN-based international order, however flawed, should be repaired through law and cooperation, not replaced by a gilded caricature.   The so-called “Board of Peace” being created by President Donald Trump is profoundly degrading to the pursuit of peace and to any nation that would lend it legitimacy. This is a trojan horse to dismantle the United Nations. It should be refused outright by every nation invited to join.   In its Charter, the Board of Peace (BoP) claims to be an “international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” If this sounds familiar, it should, because this is the mandate of the United Nations. Created in the aftermath of World War II, the UN has as its central mission the maintenance of international peace and security.   It is no secret that Trump holds open contempt for international law and the United Nations. He said so himself during his September 2025 speech at the General Assembly, and has recently withdrawn from 31 UN entities.   Following a long tradition of US foreign policy, he has consistently violated international law, including the bombing of seven countries in the past year, none of which were authorized by the Security Council and none of which was undertaken in lawful self-defense under the Charter (Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and Venezuela). He is now claiming Greenland, with brazen and open hostility towards the US allies in Europe.   So, what about this Board of Peace? It is, to put it simply, a pledge of allegiance to Trump, who seeks the role of world chairman and the world’s ultimate arbiter. The BoP will have as its Executive Board none other than Trump’s political donors, family members, and courtiers.   The leaders of nations that sign up will get to rub shoulders with, and take orders from, Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Tony Blair. Hedge Fund owner and Republican Party mega-donor Marc Rowan also gets to play. More to the point, any decisions taken by the BoP will be subject to Trump’s approval.   If the charade of representatives isn’t enough, nations will have to pay $1 billion for a “permanent seat” on the Board. Any nation that participates should know what it is “buying.”   It is certainly not buying peace or a solution for the Palestinian people (as the money supposedly goes to Gaza’s reconstruction). It is buying ostensible access to Trump for as long as it serves his interests. It is buying an illusion of momentary influence in a system where Trump’s rules are enforced by personal whim.   The proposal is absurd not least because it purports to “solve” a problem that already has an 80-year-old global solution. The United Nations exists precisely to prevent the personalization of war and peace. It was designed after the wreckage of two world wars to base peace on collective rules and international law. The UN’s authority, rightly, derives from the UN Charter ratified by 193 member states (including the US, as ratified by the US Senate in July 1945) and grounded in international law.   If the US doesn’t want to abide by the Charter, the UN General Assembly should suspend the US credentials, as it once did with Apartheid South Africa.   Trump’s “Board of Peace” is a blatant repudiation of the United Nations. Trump has made that explicit, recently declaring that the Board of Peace “might” indeed replace the United Nations. This statement alone should end the conversation for any serious national leader.   Participation after such a declaration is a conscious decision to subordinate one’s country to Trump’s personalized global authority. It is to accept, in advance, that peace is no longer governed by the UN Charter, but by Trump.   Still, some nations, desperate to get on the right side of the US, may take the bait. They should remember the wise words of President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address “ those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.”   For any nation, participation on the Board of Peace would be strategically foolish. Joining this body will create long-lasting reputational damage. Long after Trump himself is no longer President, a past association with this travesty will be a mark of poor judgment. It will remain as sad evidence that, at a critical moment, a national political system mistook a vanity project for statesmanship, squandering $1 billion of funds in the process.   Peace is a global public good. The UN-based international order, however flawed, should be repaired through law and cooperation, not replaced by a gilded caricature. Any nation that values international law, and the respect for the United Nations, should decline to be associated with this travesty of international law.   (France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Canada and New Zealand – have confirmed they will not join).   * Jeffrey D. Sachs is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.   * Crisis Group: Eight key majority-Muslim countries that signed on to the initiative (including five Arab states as well as Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkiye) have indicated that their participation is focused on Gaza. In a February joint statement they criticised Israel for violating the current ceasefire agreement; invoked the Security Council’s endorsement of the Trump peace plan; and expressed their commitment to “advancing a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law”. The unspoken reasoning behind Middle Eastern support for the Board is that Trump – and only Trump – has the leverage to press Israel into any kinds of concessions on behalf of Palestinians.   http://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-united-nations-un-board-of-peace-bop-israel-gaza-palestine-tony-blair/a-75580180 http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/27/trumps-board-of-peace-puts-rights-abusers-in-charge-of-global-order http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/02/01/will-human-rights-survive-the-donald-trump-era http://www.refugeesinternational.org/managed-deprivation-in-gaza/ http://theelders.org/news/we-must-reject-world-governed-raw-power http://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/us/politics/trump-board-peace-united-nations.html http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0zx0llpzo http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/20/trumps-board-of-peace-is-an-imperial-court-completely-unlike-what-was-proposed http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/un-experts-condemn-board-peace-call-reparative-rights-based-approach http://www.crisisgroup.org/cmt/middle-east-north-africa/israelpalestine-united-states-global/when-board-peace-meets-washington-gazas-future-will-be-line http://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-board-of-peace-looks-like-a-privatised-un-with-one-shareholder-the-us-president-273856   Jan. 30, 2026 (NYT)   The United Nations said on Friday that it was facing imminent financial collapse and would run out of money by July if countries, namely the United States, did not pay their annual dues that amount to billions of dollars.   The United States is responsible for about 95 percent of the money owed to the United Nations, about $2.2 billion, according to a senior U.N. official who briefed reporters on the agency’s budget crisis. That amount is a combination of the U.S. annual dues for 2025, which has not been paid, and for 2026, the U.N. official said. In addition to its annual dues, the United States also owes the United Nations about $1.9 billion for active peacekeeping missions   The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to the ambassadors of all 196 member states on Thursday warning them of “imminent financial collapse,” saying the organization’s financial straits this time were different from those in any previous periods, according to a copy of the letter seen by The New York Times. “The crisis is deepening, threatening program delivery and risking financial collapse,” Mr. Guterres wrote. “And the situation will further deteriorate in the near future. I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face..” Visit the related web page
	Governments must facilitate fundamental freedoms prior, during and after the elections by Gina Romero, Irene Khan UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR)   Global 'Super Election' Cycle intensified civic space restrictions and undermined democratic participation says UN expert.   The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association were heavily curtailed in many countries around the world during the 2023-2025 “super election” cycle, as part of a deliberate effort to restrict civic space and stifle democratic debate, a UN expert said today.   “These freedoms are essential for transparent, credible, and inclusive elections, representing people’s free will, and for sustaining democracy. Attacks or undue restrictions on them undermine public participation, electoral legitimacy and social peace,” said Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly in her first report to the UN Human Rights Council.   “Given their crucial role during elections, the threshold for imposing legitimate restrictions should have been higher than usual, but in practice it was below the minimum,” the expert said.   She underlined that civil society plays a key role in safeguarding electoral integrity, enabling free and pluralistic public debate, monitoring elections, preventing violence and promoting inclusion.   “Yet, it was stigmatised, suppressed and criminalised, including through repressive legislation. Civil society activists faced harassment, arbitrary detention, torture and killings, with justice systems weaponised to repress opposition,” Romero said.   Election observers, recognised as human rights defenders, also faced legal and physical threats, she said.   According to Romero’s report, opposition parties and candidates faced undue restrictions and political persecution, including burdensome registration, funding restrictions, unlawful disqualification and detention of candidates and dissolutions.   The ‘super election’ cycle saw widespread protests, as people denounced electoral misconduct and sought political participation, but assemblies were heavily curtailed through restrictions, arbitrary arrests, and excessive – sometimes deadly – force, and the misuse of less lethal weapons, the expert said.   Romero also raised concern about the way digital technologies, lacking transparency and oversight, such as of biometric voter registration, facial recognition and spyware, were used to suppress, persecute and repress activists and political opponents, creating chilling impacts on participation.   “These repressive acts created fear, severely limiting public freedoms and political pluralism, and undermined democratic processes and the right to vote,” the Special Rapporteur said.   Newly-elected governments further restricted civic activism through funding restrictions and repression, stigmatisation and criminalisation.   “Governments must facilitate fundamental freedoms prior, during and after the elections, and foster inclusive political participation, and tolerate criticism,” Romero urged.   “Governments must also guarantee pluralism; uphold the human rights of civil society actors, election observers and the opposition; repeal repressive laws like ‘foreign agent’ legislation; and ensure accountability and reparations for any violations.”   June 2025   Reverse the decline of freedom of expression to protect free and fair elections: UN expert   The global decline in freedom of expression is endangering free and fair elections and must be reversed for the sake of democracy as well as human rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, said today, presenting her latest report to the Human Rights Council.   “Polarised politics in backsliding democracies, social media platforms awash with disinformation and hate speech and a media sector too weak to debunk the lies have imperilled both freedom of expression and the right to vote,” Khan said.   “While lies are not new during elections, digital technology and social media platforms have changed the game, enabling and amplifying the degradation of the electoral information environment as never before,” the expert said.   “Vilifying minorities and marginalised groups, smearing women politicians, discrediting independent journalists, targeting electoral officials, delegitimising electoral outcomes were worrying trends in many recent elections,” she said.   The Special Rapporteur said public officials and politicians bear a significant responsibility for the degradation of the information environment, as they weaponise their own freedom of expression to incite hate and violence while denouncing the prohibition of incitement as censorship.   “The advocacy of hatred to incite violence, rampant on some campaign trails and platforms, is prohibited under international law even when it masquerades as political speech,” Khan said.   The report notes that while some States have adopted good practices based on freedom of expression, others have spread disinformation, denied access to information, attacked independent media and fact-checkers and criminalised political expression under the guise of fighting disinformation.   “Undermining freedom of expression in the name of fighting disinformation is short-sighted and counter-productive.” Khan said.   “At a time of rising hate and lies I am alarmed that large social media platforms and search engines are rolling back electoral integrity, safety, transparency and risk management for political and ideological reasons as well as economic and technological ones,” she said.   “Platforms and search engines, as major vectors of the right to information, must prioritise human safety and human rights over political and commercial interests,” the expert said.   “Democracies need a healthy media sector, and governments must also urgently address the decline of media freedom, independence, diversity, and pluralism,” Khan said. “Multi-stakeholder strategies grounded in human rights are the most effective antidote for a degraded information environment.”   “Public trust in the integrity of elections is at an all-time low. States, companies and civil society must work together to close the trust deficit urgently,” she said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/global-super-election-cycle-intensified-civic-space-restrictions-and http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5944-impact-2023-2025-super-election-cycle-rights-freedom-peaceful http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/torture/sr/activities/stm-international-day-torture-2025.pdf http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/reverse-decline-freedom-expression-protect-free-and-fair-elections-un-expert http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1m/k1ml8kkqun
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