The US withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Tuesday on the basis that “continued involvement” is not part of the nation’s interest.

The press statement released by the Department of State claimed the decision was a response to UNESCO’s stance on Palestinian statehood in particular. The department stated:

UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy. UNESCO’s decision to admit the “State of Palestine” as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.

UNESCO is the third UN organization the US has withdrawn from as a result of President Donald Trump’s February executive order. Since President Trump signed the order, the US has withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Relief and Works Agency. In the order, Trump requested a 90-day review of UNESCO to determine “how and if UNESCO supports United States interests.”

The US has been the largest supplier of arms to Israel in its war in Gaza. Last week, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination began a formal inquiry into the arms exported by the US and Canada to Israel. The letter addressed to the US claims that “[o]utside of Israel itself, the US bears the most responsibility for the situation in Gaza” and alleges that the US has failed to act according to international and domestic law.

UNESCO was created after World War II with the goal to “use education, culture, science and information to build lasting peace.” In 2024, UNESCO assisted 60 of its member countries with implementing ethics into domestic legislation and policies on Artificial Intelligence.

The US’s removal from UNESCO will officially take effect December 31, 2026.