January 9, 2026 | 01:20 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres expressed his regret over the White House's announcement regarding the United States' decision to withdraw from a number of UN entities, on Thursday.
The statement was made by UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric at the UN headquarters in New York in a release received by Tempo.
The United States announced on Wednesday night its withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including 31 UN entities.
U.S. President Donald Trump justified the move by stating that the operations of these international organizations were contrary to the national interest, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty of the U.S.
"The secretary-general respects the sovereignty of each of the members of this organization, and he also strongly believes that the challenges that we face today can only be solved through international cooperation. That’s been his view since he started on day one. It continues to be his view," said Dujarric as quoted by Arab News.
Important UN programs impacted by the U.S. withdrawal include the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Children and Armed Conflict program, which seeks to protect children in war zones.
Despite the U.S. withdrawal from several UN agencies, Dujarric affirmed that the work of these organizations will continue. According to Dujarric, all parts of the UN will continue to carry out their duties in accordance with the instructions of the member states.
Guterres, as quoted by Dujarric, emphasized that contributions to the regular budget and peacekeeping budget of the UN remain a legal obligation based on the UN Charter.
"All United Nations entities will go on with the implementation of their mandates as given by Member States," said Guterres.
"The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us. We will continue to carry out our mandates with determination."
Dujarric stressed that the UN is prepared to address the financial and operational challenges posed by the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The U.S. government has framed the withdrawal as a restoration of American sovereignty and the cessation of spending taxpayer money on what it referred to as ineffective global programs or programs driven by ideology.
Trump had previously withdrawn the U.S. from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the UN Human Rights Council.
The White House stated that these steps would allow U.S. authorities to refocus their resources on domestic priorities, including infrastructure, military readiness, border security, and protecting American businesses overseas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the organizations affected by the withdrawal are "redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and general prosperity."
The U.S. government will continue to review other international organizations for possible withdrawal based on Executive Order 14199, Rubio added.
When asked if the UN Secretary General was surprised by the scale of the U.S. troop withdrawal, Dujarric answered, "In terms of what’s going on in the world today he’s beyond the term ‘surprise’… He continues, with calm and determination, to (do) his work and defend the Charter and this international institution."
Read: Trump Withdraws US from 66 International Organizations
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