US abandons 66 international organizations. “A threat to the sovereignty, freedom and general well-being of our nation.”

US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to withdraw the United States from 66 international organizations, agencies and commissions, the White House said. These are mainly bodies belonging to the United Nations system, but also, among others, dealing with combating hybrid threats or non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The decision is the result of Trump's order last year. review to determine whether U.S. membership in international organizations is in the U.S. interest.

“The Trump Administration has determined that these institutions are expendable, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, mismanaged, hijacked by those pursuing self-interests that conflict with ours, or pose a threat to our nation's sovereignty, liberty, and general well-being,” the Department of State said in a statement.

The organizations mentioned in the memorandum are mostly smaller or narrowly specialized organizations, agencies and commissions. 31 of them to UN agencies and 35 to other organizations. The first ones include, among others: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and, among others, the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, the Global Anti-Terrorism Forum, and the Center of Science and Technology in Ukraine, dealing with the issue of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Wednesday's decision is another step of the Trump administration reducing US involvement in international initiatives. Already at the beginning of the second term Trump decided to leave, among others. from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO, withdrew support for the UN aid agency in Gaza (UNRWA) and ended US participation in the Paris climate agreement.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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