The United States' Positioning on Human Rights

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Since January 20th, 2025, the globe has witnessed a shift in United States foreign policy concerning humanitarian efforts around the globe and nationally. In official statements from the White House. The United States has withdrawn from and cut funding to various organizations that work with humanitarian efforts. This has come under scrutiny and is not something that was widely supported when President Trump was running for office.

What are humanitarian efforts?
A belief in the importance of people around the world to hold hands
An organized effort to promote the spread of information and negotiate with leadership in conflicted or disastrous situations
To provide food, water, medicine, and shelter to refugees and those in need in conflicted or disastrous situations
To prevent disastrous situations from occurring
1 and 3

Why has President Trump decided to disenfranchise institutions that stand for human rights?

These institutions are ineffective in resolving human rights abuses
We have more crucial places to allocate resources towards
He claims they allow antisemitism in their general discourse or have employed radicals
All of the above

What is antisemitism?

Hatred or discrimination against Jewish people
Support for Palestinians
Anti-Zionism
All of the above
1 and 3

Are there humanitarian issues currently unfolding within our own country?

Yes
No
Unsure

What are humanitarian efforts?

If you chose answer 6) for question 1, then you are correct! Humanitarian efforts are organized actions that promote the spread of information, provide food, water, shelter, and negotiate with leadership. These things are provided upon the threats to human rights that war, famine, medical crises, and the shifting climate create. In the past, the United States was involved with a numerous amount of humanitarian efforts. This includes, but is not limited to: the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC); the UN Economic, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These four organizations are listed specifically as they are all organizations that have been disenfranchised and defunded by the United States under the Trump Administration.

What does each organization do?

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC)

The UNHRC is a vital UN organ that monitors humanitarian issues. It has a rotating selection of 47 member states, with representatives being elected by the General Assembly on rotating terms. Established in 2006, the main focus is on responding to human rights emergencies and makes recommendations to member states on how to better protect human rights. It allows for dialogue between member states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including experts and members of civil society. If a member state is believed to be in violation of human rights, their position on the HRC may be vacated by the passing of a vote from the General Assembly.

Main Sub Bodies

There are four main sub-bodies within the HRC: Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Special Procedures, the Advisory Committee, and the Complaint Procedure. UPR is unique in that it calls for a peer review of each Member State’s human rights records every four-and-a-half years. All 193 Member States have been reviewed three times since 2008, with a fourth review currently underway. Special Procedures are a collection of independent experts. Whether they consist of individuals or groups of individuals, they are mandated, nominated, selected, and/or appointed.

These experts report to the Council on an annual basis from various perspectives, both thematically and country-specific. The Advisory Committee is the HRC’s think tank, which helps guide the Council’s direction, and is composed of 18 independent experts. Last is the Complaint Procedure; the Complaint Procedure is how patterns of reliably sourced violations of all human rights and freedoms get addressed globally. Complaints come from those who claim to be victims of such gross violations or have direct and reliable knowledge of such. In essence, the HRC will listen to and assess the accounts of those who have been the victim of human rights abuses, noting them as plausible and organizing them by Member State.

Mandated Investigations

There have also been seven different implementations of an HRC-mandated investigation into conduct in Israel and Palestine since the HRC’s inception in 2006. The most recent one is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Starting on May 27th, 2021 and is currently active. Under this Commission of Inquiry, three resolutions have been passed with the first being the establishment of such to monitor all past and present human rights law abuses.

The Commission believes in the importance of uncovering the root causes of instability and conflict, as there have been multiple conflicts in the region since the turn of the millenia. The other two are resolutions which had passed in March of 2024. A/HRC/RES/55/32 fixates on the participation of settlers and settler groups in human rights abuses, and the actions Israel and third-party states have taken to prevent such from occurring. A/HRC/RES/55/28 focuses on the legal consequences and state responsibility of weapons and munitions sales to Israel. The focus is on ensuring there is a level of accountability when the law is violated.

United Nations Economic, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

UNESCO functions with a focus on human development in societies globally. It is a vital UN organ that many can associate with the designation of World Heritage Sites that have great significance to a culture’s or society’s history and development. It was the first organ of the UN to adopt the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the core of its mission. The UDHR is the documentation with which international human rights policy is based upon. UNESCO’s mission stands for: upholding the right to education. The right to freedom of expression, information, and privacy; the right to participate in cultural life. The right to see the benefits of scientific research and the application of such; and the right to water and sanitation.

Current efforts by UNESCO are to support the promotion of these rights by creating the frameworks to extend them to all global citizens within every Member State. UNESCO does this by becoming a medium for human rights to advance. Whether it be by the creation of programs to combat racism and xenophobia, the understanding of all peoples and cultures. Or the fostering of communications to further develop human relationships between nations. UNESCO is the driving force behind the realization of peaceful development around the world.

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

UNRWA assists with issues that affect Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank. The organization has been around for 75 years, as it was specifically mandated by the UN General Assembly to serve Palestinian refugees. This came forth following the outbreak of war between Israel, Palestine, and a coalition of Arabic states in 1948. Today, UNRWA focuses on protecting and providing crucial services to Palestinians, such as healthcare, education, and basic resources that promote their growth and survival.

Included in UNRWA’s efforts are ensuring the Palestinian people’s right to life and that their rights as global citizens are provided for. 5.9 million refugees are covered by the mandate, with 58 registered refugee camps. 1.9 million refugees have access to health services, 400,000 are provided for by a social safety net, and 543,075 students receive education. Small loans referred to as microloans These services are not solely restricted to Palestinians however, as the UN specifically mandates the organization to provide care for those in need of such services. This organization has come under scrutiny for the complicated relationship between humanitarian relief and Palestinian politics. More specifically, there has been a large campaign that the Israeli government has been running against UNRWA. Claiming that members of Hamas are employees here.

After October 7th

UNRWA officially states that this has been a disinformation campaign which has been enhanced since the events of October 7th 2023. When Hamas members targeted Israeli citizens and prompted the war in Gaza. Despite asking for official proof following a decade of neutrality and transparency, the Israeli government has yet to provide a response to the organization. There has been an effort to independently review the compliance of neutrality and transparency called the Colonna Report. It has been discovered that UNRWA has numerous obligations for its workers to adhere to. There are also extensive procedures in maintaining neutrality and transparency despite limited resources and a localized workforce. Breaches of any kind are reported to host countries and dealt with.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

USAID provided crucial aid to countries around the globe. It was responsible for supporting economic growth, providing healthcare services, education, humanitarian aid in response to crises. And the advancement of American foreign policy. Since February 23rd, 2025, all faculty and staff around the globe have been placed on administrative leave indefinitely, according to their official website. At least 23 million children will lose access to education and 95 million will lose access to healthcare.

USAID had been involved in countless efforts, such as working to prevent the spread of HIV, assisting refugees in Ukraine, and combating humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a result of this suspension, new humanitarian crises that could be reduced or preventable will occur with increased severity. It was a widely supported organization which President Trump claimed was run by “radical left lunatics” without providing much of an explanation. The suspension and review of USAID has seemingly been used as a model for the dismantling of other crucial organizations run and funded by the US government.

Why has President Trump decided to disenfranchise institutions that stand up for human rights?

If you chose answer 3) for question 2, then you are correct. President Trump has cited a major shift in the treatment of Israel since the Hamas terrorist attack and outbreak of war on October 7th, 2023 in Gaza. There has been a rise in anti-semitism globally in response to the conduct of war Israel has taken. Since Israel is a state for Jewish people, some people have drawn comparisons to the Holocaust and genocide as a whole. This rise in anti-semitism, he believes, has extended to major human rights organizations that stand up against Israel. For violating various human rights treaties and principles. The discussion of Israel and how it functions has been the centerpiece of modern forms of anti-semitism prior to the war in Gaza.

South Africa had submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to investigate whether the war in Gaza could be considered genocide in 2024. The Court had ruled Israel must take action to prevent genocide from occuring in Gaza, as there is the potential of such to happen. Partisan politics at home seem to play a key role in President Trump’s administration. With a focus on what he describes as left-wing ideology. In an executive order, he claims that the United States’ international humanitarian efforts were not in allegiance with American values. Furthermore, these organizations will continue no longer, as they provide assistance without return for the American people. The aim has been to reduce the budget deficit, but other developments nationally have proven the potential of other motives.

What is Antisemitism?

If you chose answer 1) for question 3, you are correct. Antisemitism is the hatred and/or discrimination of Jewish people. It comes in many forms and has its roots in two different lines of thought. The first is the belief that Judaism is a problem based upon religious lines. It was a commonly held belief in Christianity prior to the Holocaust. That Jews were problematic because their religion was responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, the son of God in the Christian faith.

It was held to Christian missionaries to convert people in order to save them from the wrath of God. This means that if a Jewish person converted to Christianity, they would be saved. This belief has been written out of major Christian religious doctrine in the years following the Holocaust. The second belief stems from Nazi ideology, in that if one was born Jewish, even if they converted to Christianity, they could not be saved as they are ethnically Jewish. This line of thought is what was used as the justification for the genocide of Jewish people.

Modern Forms

All modern forms of antisemitism follow beliefs that Jewish people both control the world and are trying to usurp global power and influence from non-Jews. These are strange claims as Jewish people are just trying to live their lives, like any other person. They also are difficult to follow logically, as anti-semitism pushes ideas that Jews are supposedly the ones that have all the power in the world. Yet they don’t have enough power and are trying to seize it. Similar conclusions could be made about the Nazi’s attempt to link Judaism to communism whilst also claiming the Jews are ‘greedy’ and capitalist. There are visual forms of antisemitism as well, such as having a large nose or a beard.

Are they all Myths

The most important conclusion to draw from these types of claims is that they are all myths. As being Jewish means following the Jewish faith and does not have a stereotypical look. Beyond specific dress or the maintenance of a beard, a person who is Jewish could look like anyone. These stereotypes pertain to more conservative sects. As for genetic features, there are Jews of varying ethnic and racial background. Meaning there is no singular ethnicity to categorize Jews. While there are such things as Ashkenazi or Sephardic Jews. These pertain to the specific regions their families have emigrated from many years ago.

Those demarcated as ethnically or racially Jewish come for a lineage of people who were of a Jewish faith for centuries. These types of people were persecuted and needed to leave their homes to settle in regions more friendly or indifferent to Jews where they could make a living. Jewish people are in-fact one of the most historically persecuted religious groups, dating all the way back to the ancient Egyptians. There was the creation of a Jewish homeland land not long after Jewish slaves were freed from Egypt, but these events occurred over two millennia ago. The belief in the creation of a Jewish homeland dates back to this time and is referred to as Zionism.

Romans Conquered

Israel ceased to exist after the Roman Empire conquered it and incorporated the land as Palestine. Modern Zionism is the belief in the right that the Jewish people should have a state to call home as well, but in the preexisting borders of Israel. In essence, to be a Zionist is to have a belief in the right for the state of Israel to exist. Some people hold the belief that to be anti-Zionist is to be anti-semetic. While the discourse upon Israel’s existence may draw controversy to some. Standing against views that fall under Zionism are not considered antisemitism by definition. Not all Jewish people believe in the right to have a homeland in Israel however. As the creation and actions of such are merely political and not religious. Therefore, it is possible to be against the actions of the Israeli government without inciting antisemitism.

One final note that I will include is the current issue with the creation of a Palestinian state. The division of the land between Israel and Palestine has been a very rugged and difficult existence to maintain. There have been several wars between the two, despite Palestine not being a recognized state internationally. The belief in Palestine’s right to exist, much like Zionism, has also been the source of controversy to some. Palestine is also a political entity, rather than a religious one. The issue between the two lies upon geopolitics and has been under complex discussion. Even prior to the conclusion of the Second World War and the discovery of the Holocaust.

Are there humanitarian issues currently going on in the United States?

If you chose answer 1) for question 4, you are correct. Unfortunately, there are humanitarian issues always happening around the globe and within our nation. It is also okay to be unsure about whether there are humanitarian issues that are currently going on in the United States. As this is how you become an informed voter. They could be as local as severe flooding in a suburb and the mishandling of resources to manage it. To the national detainment and deportation of immigrants without due process. This includes the deportation of a select number of people to a prison in El Salvador, and establishment of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida for detained migrants and immigrants.

There could always be multiple reasonings behind disenfranchising human rights organizations outside what a country’s leadership says. Denying human rights issues or renaming such to more politically sensitive terminology with the intent to deflect, is also an unfortunate part of humanitarian law violations. The utilization of language is everything in law, especially on the international stage.

These things can further complicate how relief and aid can reach people. As a state’s sovereignty is to be maintained under the United Nations. The United States also retains veto power within the United Nations Security Council. Meaning it can make any resolution against it null-and-void. This showcases how the power of the vote as an American citizen is one of the most important rights we have today. The American people have the power to change the world with a single checked box. A more informed voter will be able to choose more wisely which candidate they would like to see in office. A more informed vote can lead to a shift in the right course and maintain such a status quo.

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