Trump to target UN Human Rights Council, Palestinian relief agency UNRWA
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, US, on Jan 30, 2025. (File photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
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WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump is expected on Tuesday (Dec 4) to stop US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and continue a halt to funding for the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, a White House official said on Monday.
The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing the agency of anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being "involved in terrorist activities against Israel".
The United Nations and UNRWA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During Trump's first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, he also cut off funding for UNRWA, questioning its value, 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 Democratic former President Joe Biden, the US was re-elected and served a 2022-2024 term.
A Human Rights Co
