The Trump administration has announced that the United States will withdraw from 66 international organisations, including 31 United Nations bodies and 35 non-UN institutions, marking the most sweeping retreat from multilateral governance in modern US history.
The decision reflects President Donald Trump’s long-running hostility toward global institutions he believes dilute American sovereignty, impose ideological agendas, and constrain US economic and strategic freedom. Senior officials argue that many of these bodies promote climate activism, migration frameworks, labour norms, and gender policies that the administration has labelled “woke” and fundamentally misaligned with US national interests.
This move follows Trump’s second withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and signals a broader attempt to dismantle the entire international ecosystem built around climate action, development governance, and multilateral regulation.
Trump’s deepening frustration with the UN
Trump’s antagonism toward the United Nations is not new. During his first term, his administration repeatedly accused the UN of inefficiency, bias against the United States and Israel, and ideological overreach. He cut funding to several UN agencies, withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council, and questioned the value of US contributions that far exceed those of most member states.
What has changed in Trump’s second term is scale and intent.
Rather than selectively defunding or withdrawing from individual agencies, the administration is now attempting to exit entire governance frameworks, especially those tied to climate policy, social development, and global norm-setting. Officials argue that these institutions no longer function as neutral platforms but instead operate as enforcement mechanisms for progressive policies that Congress never approved.
White House officials have also expressed frustration with what they describe as the UN’s “mission creep,” where agencies expand their mandates beyond humanitarian or security roles into domestic policy influence.
Climate policy at the centre of the rupture
The clearest target of Trump’s multilateral rollback is global climate governance.
One of Trump’s first actions after returning to office in January 2025 was to announce the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for a second time. That exit will take effect on January 27, 2026, ending America’s legal obligations under the accord.
The new memorandum goes much further. It targets the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change itself, the 1992 treaty that underpins the Paris Agreement and all subsequent climate negotiations.
By withdrawing from the UNFCCC, the administration aims to remove the United States from the entire global climate negotiation architecture. This step is particularly controversial because the UNFCCC is a Senate-ratified treaty. Legal scholars and former US officials have noted that unilateral withdrawal from such treaties is likely to face court challenges, especially if Congress was not consulted.
Trump’s advisers argue that climate commitments undermine US energy dominance, increase domestic costs, and allow strategic rivals like China to benefit from looser enforcement.
What the US is leaving and what it is staying in
Despite the scale of the withdrawals, the administration has drawn a clear line between institutions it views as ideological and those it considers essential to US security interests.
The US will remain part of the UN Security Council, where it holds veto power, as well as the World Food Programme and the UN Refugee Agency. These bodies were described by the White House as serving “core humanitarian or security functions” that align with American priorities.
Everything else, however, has been put on the chopping block.
31 United Nations organisations the US is exiting:
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – Economic Commission for Africa
ECOSOC – Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ECOSOC – Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
International Law Commission
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
International Trade Centre
Office of the Special Adviser on Africa
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
Peacebuilding Commission
Peacebuilding Fund
Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
UN Alliance of Civilizations
UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
UN Conference on Trade and Development
UN Democracy Fund
UN Energy
UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
UN Human Settlements Programme
UN Institute for Training and Research
UN Oceans
UN Population Fund
UN Register of Conventional Arms
UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
UN System Staff College
UN Water
UN University
35 non-UN organisations the US is exiting:
24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact
Colombo Plan Council
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Education Cannot Wait
European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats
Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories
Freedom Online Coalition
Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund
Global Counterterrorism Forum
Global Forum on Cyber Expertise
Global Forum on Migration and Development
Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Cotton Advisory Committee
International Development Law Organization
International Energy Forum
International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law
International Lead and Zinc Study Group
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
International Tropical Timber Organization
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Pan American Institute of Geography and History
Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation
Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia
Regional Cooperation Council
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century
Science and Technology Center in Ukraine
Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
Venice Commission of the Council of Europe
What this means going forward
Supporters of the move say Trump is reclaiming American sovereignty and ending what they view as unaccountable global governance. Critics argue the decision will isolate the United States, weaken its ability to shape global rules, and leave leadership vacuums that China and other powers will fill.
What is clear is that Trump’s second term is no longer about selective disengagement. It represents a systematic effort to dismantle the multilateral order the United States helped build after World War II, replacing it with a transactional, interest-driven foreign policy that prioritises power over participation.
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