This piece of news has come just two years after the U.S. rejoined the United Nations’ cultural agency.

“Today, the U.S. informed Director-General Audrey Azoulay of its decision to withdraw from UNESCO,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the U.S.,” it added.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a review of the country’s involvement in and the funding of the United Nations in early February, days after taking office for a second term.

At the time, Trump said the UN had “tremendous potential” but “it’s not being well run.”

Based in Paris, UNESCO is tasked with promoting cooperation across sectors to maintain peace.

It is best known for its World Heritage list, which includes sites recognised for their special cultural, historical or natural significance.

World Heritage Sites in the U.S. include Yellowstone National Park, the Statue of Liberty and the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.

In the statement, the State Department accused the organisation of working “to advance divisive social and cultural causes and (maintaining) an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

It had described this as “a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy.”

The Department also cited “UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member-State” as a reason for its decision, calling the step “highly problematic” and contrary to US policy”.

It claimed that this “contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation”.

In recent years, the agency’s work has repeatedly been overshadowed by disputes related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

After the Palestinian Territories were admitted as a member-state in 2011, the U.S. halted its payments to UNESCO that same year.

The country is currently the largest financial contributor ahead of China and Japan, meaning the planned withdrawal is likely to have significant ramifications for the agency.

The UN health agency World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it is facing an acute financial crisis after Trump signed an order to pull the U.S. from the body by the end of 2026.

Trump first pulled the U.S. from the cultural agency during his first term in 2018, accusing UNESCO of a hostile stance towards Israel.

The country rejoined under the Biden administration in 2023.

The U.S. had also withdrawn from the organisation in 1984, citing anti-Western policies and inefficient governance, before rejoining in 2003.

Founded in 1945, six months after the end of World War II, UNESCO currently employs some 2,000 people and has 194 members.

According to earlier figures from the United Nations Association of Germany, UNESCO lost 22 percent of its regular budget each year after the U.S. withdrew in 2018.

Azoulay said she regretted the U.S. administration’s decision, which she said contradicted the principles of multilateralism.

She added that this could affect U.S. communities seeking inscription on the World Heritage List, Creative City status and University Chairs.

However, Azoulay added that the organisation was better protected in financial terms today thanks to support from its member-states and private contributors.

“In recent years, we have undertaken major structural reforms and diversified our funding sources,” the UNESCO boss said, adding that the U.S. now represented eight percent of the organisation’s total budget.

Meanwhile, Israel has welcomed the move, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar calling it a “necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel’s right for fair treatment in the UN system.”

“Israel thanks the U.S. for its moral support and leadership, especially in the multilateral arena which is plagued with anti-Israel discrimination,” Saar said in a statement on X.

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