Israel joined the United States on Wednesday in cutting ties with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
President Donald Trump announced one day earlier that he had signed an Executive Order cutting America’s ties with UNHRC, “reviewing” its membership in UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and ending US funding for UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East).
.@POTUS:
"I'm pleased to announce that this afternoon, the United States withdrew from the antisemitic UN Human Rights Council and ended all of the support for UNRWA, which funneled money to Hamas and which was very disloyal to humanity."
Thank you President Trump for your… pic.twitter.com/MBebwtIrIL
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) February 5, 2025
“UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State (Secretary) as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel,” the order noted.
“UNHRC has protected human rights abusers by allowing them to use the organization to shield themselves from scrutiny, while UNESCO has demonstrated failure to reform itself, has continually demonstrated anti-Israel sentiment over the past decade, and has failed to address concerns over mounting arrears.
“The United States will not participate in the UNHRC and will not seek election to that body. The Secretary shall terminate the office of United States Representative to the UNHRC and any positions primarily dedicated to supporting the United States Representative to the UNHRC,” the order said.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar made the formal announcement about Israel’s decision to follow suit in a statement citing the long-standing discrimination against Israel in the UN body.
Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC.The UNHRC has traditionally protected human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny, and…
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 5, 2025
“Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC,” Sa’ar said.
“The UNHRC has traditionally protected human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny, and instead obsessively demonizes the one democracy in the Middle East – Israel. This body has focused on attacking a democratic country and propagating antisemitism, instead of promoting human rights,” he noted.
“The discrimination against us is clear,” he added.
Israel is the only country with an agenda item (Item 7) dedicated solely to it in the UNHRC.
Israel has been subjected to over 100 condemnatory resolutions – more than 20 percent of all resolutions passed in the Council from its inception — more than all the resolutions ever passed against Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, combined.
“Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!” Sa’ar declared.
This is not the first time – nor the second time – that Israel has cut ties with the antisemitic Council.
Israel first withdrew from the UNHRC in 2012, announcing it was cutting all ties with the Council after a vote that established a fact-finding mission into Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria. Less than a year later, relations were resumed.
In 2018, the United States under the Trump Administration withdrew its membership, and Israel immediately followed suit, cutting ties once again.
The Executive Order signed by the president on Tuesday also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been tasked with conducting a review of all international intergovernmental organizations, conventions and treaties in which the US holds membership.
The review is intended to “determine which organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States and whether such organizations, conventions, or treaties can be reformed,” according to the text of the order.
“Upon the conclusion of that review, the Secretary shall report the findings to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and provide recommendations as to whether the United States should withdraw from any such organizations, conventions, or treaties.”
The UNHRC headed this year (2025) by Switzerland’s UN Ambassador Jurg Lauber, who was elected to the one-year post in December 2024. Lauber, 61, has served as Switzerland’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva since September 1, 2020. For the five years prior, he served as Switzerland’s UN Ambassador to the UN headquarters in New York City.
