Will U.S. Withdraw From The UN?

Since Donald Trump began his second term as President, the U.S. has been pulling out of various multilateral institutions it once helped create while also reducing foreign aid and participation in international organisations.

On his first day back in office, January 20, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw Washington from several United Nations bodies, including the Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The latest proposal in this series is the introduction of the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act by Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, which would allow the U.S. to withdraw from the United Nations.  

Lee introduced the DEFUND Act in the Senate on 20 February 2025 (Thursday).  "No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans' hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values, enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry," said Sen. Mike Lee. "With the DEFUND Act, we're stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the UN in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause."

The DEFUND Act proposes to repeal the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act, which established the UN라이브 바카라 sovereign district in New York. It would end all U.S. contributions to the UN, both voluntary and assessed, and stop American involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. The U.S. is the largest contributor to the UN, having donated nearly $13 billion in the fiscal year 2023, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Under current UN membership rules, all 193 member countries are required to contribute financially. 

Analysts warn that an American withdrawal would create a vacuum that China and Russia could use to expand their influence in global policy making. Beijing라이브 바카라 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has already filled some gaps left by past U.S. aid cuts.

While DEFUND supporters argue that cutting UN contributions will save billions, critics say the loss of influence could cost U.S. much more in economic and security terms. Along with other institutions, the UN allowed the US to shape the international system in its own image and spread its domestic values and interests across the world. 

Past U.S. presidents and lawmakers have also tried to reduce payments, if not completely cut funding, to the United Nations. In the late 1990s, for instance, Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) led an effort to push for UN reforms by withholding U.S. contributions. This nearly caused the U.S. to lose its vote at the General Assembly as millions of dollars in unpaid assessments piled up. The issue was resolved in 2001 with a compromise between Congress and the United Nations.

The UN, founded in 1945, was the second international organisation formed to provide security to the world, when the victors of World War II decided to take charge of the world. Its predecessor, the League of Nations, existed briefly between the World Wars and had a fleeting existence. While the UN has done little better in saving the world from the scourge of war, it has one creditable achievement—it has survived.  

Today, it is mostly seen as irrelevant, especially the Security Council, due to its failure to bring peace to the world. The Security Council라이브 바카라 dysfunction is largely due to the widening ideological gulf between the five veto-wielding permanent members (P5)—usually pitting Russia and China on one side and the United States, UK, and France on the other. Time and again, it has failed to take action on Ukraine, Israel, Sudan, and countless other crises because one or more P5 members block resolutions.

Yet beyond the grand halls of diplomacy, the UN is not irrelevant to the hungry people it feeds, the displaced it assists, the children it vaccinates, and more. Through agencies like the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP), it provides food and aid to people affected by conflict, climate-related disasters, economic crises, pandemics, and other challenges. In 2023 alone, it assisted 152 million people.

Although the UN has largely failed to stop wars, its peacekeeping missions have played a crucial role in stabilising conflict zones. Since 1948, the UN has helped end conflicts and foster reconciliation through peacekeeping operations in countries including Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Namibia, and Tajikistan. Through the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), it continues to work to monitor and promote human rights around the world.