CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations, calls on the United States to reverse the executive orders by President Donald Trump that undermine and threaten global progress. The orders will reverse decades of hard-won gains and stall progress on climate justice, human rights, gender and racial equality, economic justice, and civic freedoms.
The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Agreement, along with the suspension of foreign development assistance and a rollback of racial equity and gender rights, will severely weaken multilateral institutions and jeopardise the efforts of civil society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“We live in an increasingly interdependent world in need of enhanced, not diminished, empathy and international cooperation,” said Mandeep Tiwana, Interim Co-Secretary General of CIVICUS. “Trump’s imperial worldview and regressive policy pronouncements are out of sync with the present times and the needs of future generations.”
The U.S. decision to exit the Paris Agreement is especially alarming. It undermines global efforts to address the climate crisis at a time when international cooperation is more urgent than ever. This move will disproportionately impact communities in the Global South, which are already suffering from climate-related disasters.
The withdrawal from the WHO endangers critical health programs, including those addressing health emergencies in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as ongoing efforts to combat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health. These actions are part of a broader pattern of reneging on international agreements and promises, at grave harm to communities around the world. The previous Trump Presidency’s decision to cut off all funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2017 left devastating consequences for reproductive health and human rights worldwide.
CIVICUS' latest data shows that 70% of the world’s population lives in countries where civic space is either highly restricted or completely closed. The U.S. decision to pause foreign development assistance for 90 days will further impact civil society working to protect human rights, civic space, and sustainable development. This, coupled with shifting foreign policy priorities, risks undermining global development initiatives and eroding civic space worldwide.
“These executive orders signal a retreat from global cooperation and threaten the trust, stability, and solidarity necessary to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. The U.S played a key role in the formation of the United Nations to address these very challenges. President Trump’s orders undermine the very institutions his presidential predecessors helped establish,” said Jesselina Rana, UN Advisor at CIVICUS’ New York Hub.
CIVICUS calls on the U.S. government to reverse the decisions and reaffirm its commitment to global cooperation, human rights, and climate action. All UN member states, including the US, must act now to safeguard the hard-won progress toward a more just and sustainable future.
“We stand with civil society and movements in the U.S and around the world. Global solidarity of citizen action for justice, inclusion, and progress is more critical now than ever,” said Tiwana.