"They are ineffective and harmful"/ US withdraws from 66 international organizations

2026-01-08 15:42:48, Kosova & Bota CNA

"They are ineffective and harmful"/ US withdraws from 66 international

US President Donald Trump has signed a decree to withdraw the United States from 66 international organizations that the administration considered "ineffective and harmful."

Among them are the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, the International Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the successor to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), UN Women, and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

In the latter, Kosovo is part, along with other Western Balkan countries, and this organization aims to strengthen political, economic and social cooperation in the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe and aims to bring the region closer to the European Union.

In the Venice Commission - which is an advisory body on constitutional matters and makes recommendations to parliaments and governments - the US was an observer, not a member.

Former President of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani, told Radio Free Europe that the United States' withdrawal from the Venice Commission will diminish the weight and importance of this institution's opinions in the Western Balkans.

"This is seen precisely in the fact that there have been cases when the recommendations of the Venice Commission have been resubmitted for clarification and a second opinion, with the case of Kosovo in recent years as a typical example, precisely because the US in Kosovo, during the Kurti II Government, has not shown any interest in interfering in rule of law issues, as has been the case in the past ," he said.

Professor Hasani was Kosovo's first representative to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, when Kosovo became a member of this institution in September 2014.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said these organizations are "anti-American or useless".

The US has also withdrawn from several other United Nations organizations, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Trade Center, the International Law Commission, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UN Endowment for Democracy, and a number of international organizations and treaties.

"We will not continue to waste resources, diplomatic capital, and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or conflict with our interests. We reject inertia and ideology in favor of prudence and purpose. We seek cooperation where it serves our people and will stand firm where it does not," the White House statement said.

Secretary Rubio added that this withdrawal is materializing President Trump's key promise to "stop subsidizing globalist bureaucrats who act against our interests. The Trump administration will always put America and Americans first."

The US said that the review of other international organizations is ongoing.

President Trump's decision reflects his long-standing distrust of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations. He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost, and accountability of international organizations, arguing that they often do not serve the interests of the United States. /REL