President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Jan 7) signed an order withdrawing the United States from 66 organizations and treaties, which, as per a White House memorandum, are “contrary to the interests of the United States.” This sweeping exit includes a departure from the India-led International Solar Alliance, a global initiative to boost solar energy adoption, enhance energy access, and combat climate change.
Can Trump do this? Or was this an illegal exit?
While the US Constitution requires a two-thirds Senate majority to approve treaties, it does not clearly spell out how a president may withdraw from them, a legal grey area that could prompt court challenges.
However, critics slammed the move as “illegal”. Jean Su of the Center for Biological Diversity said “Pulling out of the UNFCCC is a whole order of magnitude different from pulling out of the Paris Agreement.” She argued that it is “illegal for the President to unilaterally pull out of a treaty that required two-thirds of the Senate vote” and said legal options were being explored.
How many UN organisations has the US exit now?
Reports suggest that roughly half of the organisations and treaties the US exited on Wednesday, are affiliated with the United Nations. The most notable is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which happens to be the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements.
Trump, a climate change denier, previously also pulled the US from the landmark Paris climate accord. He has been known to openly scorn scientific consensus that human activity is warming the planet, and derides climate science as a “hoax.”
Which organisations/treaties did the US exit?
Along with UNFCCC, the memo orders US withdrawal from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Renewable Energy Agency, UN Oceans and UN Water.
Full list of organisations/treaties Trump has pulled the US out:
(a) Non-United Nations Organizations:
(i) 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact;
(ii) Colombo Plan Council;
(iii) Commission for Environmental Cooperation.
(iv) Education Cannot Wait;
(v) European Centre of Excellence for Countering
Hybrid Threats;
(vi) Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories;
(vii) Freedom Online Coalition;
(viii) Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund;
(ix) Global Counterterrorism Forum;
(x) Global Forum on Cyber Expertise;
(xi) Global Forum on Migration and Development;
(xii) Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research;
(xiii) Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development;
(xiv) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
(xv) Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services;
(xvi) International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property;
(xvii) International Cotton Advisory Committee;
(xviii) International Development Law Organization;
(xix) International Energy Forum;
(xx) International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies;
(xxi) International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance;
(xxii) International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law;
(xxiii) International Lead and Zinc Study Group;
(xxiv) International Renewable Energy Agency;
(xxv) International Solar Alliance;
(xxvi) International Tropical Timber Organization;
(xxvii) International Union for Conservation of Nature;
(xxviii) Pan American Institute of Geography and History;
(xxix) Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation;
(xxx) Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia;
(xxxi) Regional Cooperation Council;
(xxxii) Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century;
(xxxiii) Science and Technology Center in Ukraine;
(xxxiv) Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme; and
(xxxv) Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
(b) United Nations (UN) Organizations:
(i) Department of Economic and Social Affairs;
(ii) UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) — Economic Commission for Africa;
(iii) ECOSOC — Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean;
(iv) ECOSOC — Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific;
(v) ECOSOC — Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia;
(vi) International Law Commission;
(vii) International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals;
(viii) International Trade Centre;
(ix) Office of the Special Adviser on Africa;
(x) Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict;
(xi) Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict;
(xii) Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children;
(xiii) Peacebuilding Commission;
(xiv) Peacebuilding Fund;
(xv) Permanent Forum on People of African Descent;
(xvi) UN Alliance of Civilizations;
(xvii) UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries;
(xviii) UN Conference on Trade and Development;
(xix) UN Democracy Fund;
(xx) UN Energy;
(xxi) UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women;
(xxii) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change;
(xxiii) UN Human Settlements Programme;
(xxiv) UN Institute for Training and Research;
(xxv) UN Oceans;
(xxvi) UN Population Fund;
(xxvii) UN Register of Conventional Arms;
(xxviii) UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination;
(xxix) UN System Staff College;
(xxx) UN Water; and
(xxxi) UN University.
