Donald Trump has ordered the United States to withdraw from a United Nations body that his administration says promotes racially divisive politics and race-based policymaking.
The executive order targets the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, which US officials accuse of framing international policy through racial grievance and advancing what they describe as discriminatory social agendas. The administration claims the forum’s work conflicts with the US Constitution, particularly the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Speaking on the decision, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Washington would no longer associate itself with institutions it believes undermine equality under the law, adding that the US would not continue to legitimize organisations it views as racially biased.
He also criticised what he called the growing influence of activists promoting diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks within international bodies, arguing that such groups push for policies centred on race-based redistribution and ideological conformity rather than universal principles.
The UN forum has been a vocal supporter of reparations, calling for financial and structural compensation for African nations and people of African descent in response to historic wrongs such as slavery, colonial exploitation, apartheid and genocide.
Its advocacy has increasingly expanded into modern policy debates, including the regulation of new technologies. The forum has warned that emerging tools like artificial intelligence risk reinforcing racial discrimination, insisting that “reparatory justice” is essential to counter what it characterises as systemic, technology-driven bias.
