By Vibhu Mishra
NEW YORK, USA – Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed regret over the decision by the United States to withdraw from a number of UN entities, while underscoring that the system will continue to deliver on all its mandates.
“As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all member states, including the United States,” a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday.
Wednesday night’s presidential memorandum directs US executive departments and agencies to take immediate steps to withdraw from dozens of international organisations, conventions and treaties deemed by Washington to be contrary to US interests.
According to the US memorandum, the decision affects 31 UN agencies and entities. These include:
- The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports maternal and child health, and combating sexual and gender-based violence;
- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which fosters global cooperation against climate change;
- The UN Democracy Fund, which funds and mentors civil society projects for democracy;
- Other offices of the UN Secretariat based in New York and elsewhere, such as those dealing with children in armed conflict and ending sexual violence as a weapon of war.
The list also includes four of the five UN regional commissions (Asia-Pacific, Western Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean), which are key platforms for multilateral cooperation.
For UN entities, “withdrawal means ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law,” the memorandum states.
The work will continue: Guterres
Despite the announcement, the secretary-general stressed that the work of the Organisation would continue.
“All United Nations entities will go on with the implementation of their mandates as given by Member States,” the statement said. “The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us. We will continue to carry out our mandates with determination.”
Under the UN Charter, assessed contributions to the Organisation’s regular and peacekeeping budgets are approved by the General Assembly and are considered binding obligations for all member states.
For 2026, the General Assembly approved $3.45 billion regular budget – a sharp reduction from previous years – including a 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.
A blow to climate cooperation
Responding specifically to the US decision to withdraw from UNFCCC, its executive secretary Simon Stiell said the move marked a step back from global climate cooperation.
“The United States was instrumental in creating the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, because they are both entirely in its national interests,” Mr. Stiell said in a separate statement on Thursday.
“While all other nations are stepping forward together, this latest step back from global leadership, climate cooperation and science can only harm the US economy, jobs and living standards, as wildfires, floods, mega-storms and droughts get rapidly worse. It is a colossal own goal which will leave the US less secure and less prosperous.”
Stiell noted that UNFCCC would keep working tirelessly, adding, “the doors remain open for the US to reenter in the future, as it has in the past with the Paris Agreement.”
