Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Members of the European Parliament review the recent decision of the new US administration to withdraw from a number of international organizations and agreements. According to a statement issued by the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, the session will be held on Wednesday afternoon, during the sessions of this week that will be held in Strasbourg. The statement read: “After his inauguration on 20 January 2025, President Donald Trump signed a large number of executive orders that set out the priorities of the new US administration, including the country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change. Along with representatives of the Commission, MEPs will discuss the impact of these decisions internationally and on the future participation of the European Union in these global initiatives. According to the European statement, this is the second time that the United States has begun the process of withdrawing from both the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement. During the first Trump administration (2017-2021), the United States submitted formal notification of withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in November 2019 (which took 12 months to take effect). Shortly after taking office, President Biden reversed the decision, with the United States officially rejoining the agreement in February 2021. President Trump also began the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization in 2020, But it was never completed and the Biden administration canceled the decision.

This comes after the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS said that the US funding freeze for foreign aid programs had created “a lot of confusion” in community work on AIDS prevention, despite exemptions for programs working to combat AIDS.
The exemption allows for the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” including HIV treatment. This means that 20 million people living with HIV — who rely on US aid for their treatment — can continue to receive their medications.
The UN agency warned of a 400 percent increase in AIDS deaths if the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is not reauthorized between 2025 and 2029.
A UNFPA official also said that the agency had suspended US-funded services that provide a lifeline for women and girls in crises, after the US administration decided to halt almost all US foreign aid programs pending a 90-day review.
At a UN agencies’ press conference in Geneva, Beau Smith, UNFPA’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said: “What happens when our work is not funded? Women give birth alone in unsanitary conditions. The risk of obstetric fistula increases, newborns die from preventable causes, and survivors of gender-based violence have nowhere to turn for medical or psychological support.”
He explained that the messages they received from the US administration were similar to those received by other UN agencies.
US President Trump has also pledged to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement adopted in 2015. Clare Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization, said the need for all countries to respect the agreement was clear, given that 2024 was the warmest year on record.
The UN spokesperson also stressed the importance of the work of the Human Rights Council to the UN system’s rights architecture, and stressed the organization’s support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the essential services it provides to millions of Palestinians.
This came in response to a question at the daily press conference about US President Donald Trump's reported intention to sign executive orders this week to withdraw from the Human Rights Council and prevent any future funding for UNRWA.