President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council, prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Trump on Tuesday also directed the US to review its participation in the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the body that uses culture and history as a bridge-building mechanism between nations.

“The United States helped found the United Nations (UN) after World War II to prevent future global conflicts and promote international peace and security. But some of the UN’s agencies and bodies have drifted from this mission and instead act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism,” the Executive order said.

The executive order said that as in 2018, when the US withdrew from the UNHRC, the US will reevaluate its commitment to these institutions and three UN organisations that deserve renewed scrutiny are the UNHRC; the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).