Foreign Ministry severs Jerusalem’s ties with 7 UN agencies, citing anti-Israel bias

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announces his decision to withdraw Israel from several United Nations agencies and associated organizations for reasons ranging from their alleged anti-Israel bias to “ineffective bureaucracy.”

The agencies Israel is withdrawing from, effective immediately, are the: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); UN Conference on Trade and Development; UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; UN Alliance of Civilizations; UN Energy; and Global Forum on Migration and Development.

In a statement announcing the move, the Foreign Ministry says it is ceasing cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict after it added the IDF to a “blacklist” in its annual report on children in armed conflict, along with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

“Israel is the only democratic country to be listed, alongside ISIS and Boko Haram,” it notes, adding that Israel already cut ties with the office in June 2024.

Similarly, it says, Sa’ar pulled Israel out of UN Women after it “deliberately ignored all cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7, 2023.

It cites “virulent anti-Israel reports” as the reason for withdrawing from both the UN Agency for Trade and Development and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and says the Alliance of Civilizations is “used as a platform for attacks against Israel.”

Finally, it accuses UN Energy of being a “wasteful organization,” reflective of the “excessive and inefficient bureaucracy of the UN,” and says that the Global Forum on Migration and Development “erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws.”

The ministry adds that it will continue to examine Israel’s ties with additional UN agencies.