United States: Withdrawal from International Organisations

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the United Kingdom of the withdrawal by the United States from 66 international organisations, conventions and treaties.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, the decision to withdraw from certain international organisations, conventions and treaties is, of course, for the United States. It is the right of every sovereign state to take its own decisions in this regard, but the UK’s commitment to multilateral co-operation and international law remains as strong as ever. The UN and other international institutions continue to play a critical role in advancing our priorities on climate change, preventing and ending conflicts and ending violence against women and girls.

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, I fully recognise the right of the United States of America to take part in or leave international organisations as the elected Government see fit. It seems very strange that a presidency that chases peace awards has withdrawn funding from and organisational commitment to Education Cannot Wait—the organisation set up to support child refugees suffering from conflict—the United Nations’ Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict. In the UK, there has been cross-party support for these five bodies across several terms of Parliament. Will this Labour Government maintain the funding committed by the previous Conservative Government to these organisations as the new funding round is announced over the coming months? Will the UK also use its good offices at the United Nations through the friends of peacebuilding to try to ensure increased support from others to try to make up for this American shortfall?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

As my noble friend said, it is for the Americans to make their own choices about what they decide to fund. The organisations that he referred to—he mentioned Education Cannot Wait in particular—do a tremendous job, and our commitment to them is steadfast. Our allocations will be announced in the coming weeks, I hope, so there is not too much longer to wait for them, so that noble Lords can see for themselves where the United Kingdom Government are putting their money. In broad terms, my noble friend makes the point very well about multilateralism and the need for countries to come together to address the greatest challenges that the world faces, and I agree with him.