"UN UNESCO strives to promote social and cultural goals that cause division and maintain over-focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a global, twinned agenda on international development, in contrast to our "America First" foreign policy," US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement on July 22.
White House Deputy Spokesperson Anna Kelly previously revealed that the US withdrawal from UNESCO was due to UNESCO's support for "divided cultural and social goals, completely inconsistent with the general policies that Americans voted for in November".
The US's official withdrawal from UNESCO, scheduled for the end of December 2026, is a heavy blow to the Paris-based agency, founded after World War II to promote peace through international cooperation in education, science and culture.
UNESCO Director General Audi Azoulay shared: I am deeply regretful about President Donald Trumps decision to once again withdraw the US from UNESCO. However, unfortunately, this announcement was predicted and UNESCO has prepared for that.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from UNESCO in his first term, along with leaving the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Human Rights Council, a global deal on climate change and the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
Joe Biden reversed those decisions after becoming US President in 2021, returning the US to UNESCO, WHO and the climate deal.
The United States joined UNESCO since the organization was established in 1945, but withdrew from the organization for the first time in 1984. Nearly 20 years later, in 2003, under President George W. Bush, the US returned to this organization.
The US is contributing about 8% of UNESCO's total budget, down from about 20% when President Trump first withdrew the US from the organization.
