Days after US withdrawal from 66 international organisations, Israel has announced its decision to sever ties with seven UN agencies, accusing them of being anti-Israel.
The Times of Israel quoted Foreign
Minister Gideon Sa’ar announcing the decision to withdraw Israel from several United Nations agencies and associated organisations for reasons ranging from their alleged anti-Israel bias to “ineffective bureaucracy.”
The agencies Israel is withdrawing from, effective immediately, are the: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); UN Conference on Trade and Development; UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; UN Alliance of Civilisations; UN Energy; and Global Forum on Migration and Development.
The Foreign Ministry said it was ceasing cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict after the IDF was added to the “blacklist” in its annual report on children in armed conflict, along with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“Israel is the only democratic country to be listed, alongside ISIS and Boko Haram,” the ministry said, adding that the country had already cut its ties with the office in June 2024.
It further said the decision to pull out of UN Women was taken “deliberately ignored all cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7, 2023”.
Similarly, it cited “virulent anti-Israel reports” as the reason for withdrawing from both the UN Agency for Trade and Development and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and says the Alliance of Civilisations is “used as a platform for attacks against Israel,” The Times Of Israel reported.
The ministry also accused UN Energy of being a “wasteful organisation” and said that the Global Forum on Migration and Development “erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws”.
The ministry added that the country may pull out of more UN agencies.
This comes days after US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organisations, including the key UN climate treaty. The list includes 35 organisations that are not affiliated with the United Nations, as well as 31 entities that fall under the UN system.
