US to Withdraw from UN Human Rights Council, Stop Funding UNRWA

President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and prohibiting future funding for the United Nations relief agency in Gaza, the UNRWA, on Tuesday.

For Context: The order reinstates policies that were in place during Trump's first administration. While Presidents George W. Bush and Trump did not engage with the UNHRC during their terms, Presidents Obama and Biden did. It also coincides with Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday. 

UNRWA: The UNRWA serves as the main aid organization for more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel banned the organization over accusations that UNRWA members participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. A U.N. investigation found that nine UNRWA members participated in the attacks. It did not find sufficient evidence to prove that the other 10 members accused by Israel were a part of the attacks.

How The Media Covered It: Reuters (Center bias) was favorable to the UNRWA, describing Trump as “targeting” the “Palestinian relief agency” and describing its financial situation as already “very, very bad.” Politico (Lean Left) said, “UNRWA is the main agency providing aid for Gaza’s population amid the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive in the area after the Oct. 7 attack. But the U.N. fired several staffers last summer after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the attack.” Politico framed the disaster as caused by Israel, and framed the UNRWA as accountable by firing those involved in the attack. Washington Examiner (Lean Right), in contrast, said UNRWA provided aid to those affected by the war, mentioning that Oct. 7 was the worst attack in Israel's history and the UNRWA fired nine of the 19 Israel accused of participating in the attack.