NEW YORK/BEIRUT – The United States has warned UN organisations Unicef and UN Women against any focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and gender ideology as a UN food official sought to avoid Washington’s ire by advising some staff members to tone down language.
Since returning to power on Jan 20, US President Donald Trump has focused on eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices and any promotion of “gender ideology” in the federal government, and has encouraged the private sector to follow suit.
Now Washington has the United Nations in its sights, leaving the world body’s agencies nervous that they could lose billions of dollars in voluntary US funding as Mr Trump and billionaire Elon Musk seek ways to slash government spending.
“America provides way too much funding to the UN and associated entities,” Mr Musk posted on X on Feb 10.
In the past three weeks, Mr Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency Unesco.
Washington is the UN’s largest contributor – followed by China – accounting for 22 per cent of the core UN budget and 27 per cent of the peacekeeping budget.
The UN has said the US currently owes a total of US$2.8 billion (S$3.76 billion). These payments are not voluntary.
Over the past week at executive board meetings of the UN children’s agency Unicef and UN Women, which works for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the US laid out its opposition to either body promoting DEI and “gender ideology”, a loose term referencing non-traditional views on sex and gender.
The US forced the first vote in the history of the 36-member executive board of Unicef, which was created in 1946, over the adoption of routine documents.
The US had unsuccessfully tried to amend them to call on Unicef to scrap DEI or “gender ideology” programming, “so as to promote equal opportunities for all” and “promote and underscore biological reality”.
After that vote on Feb 7, Eritrea’s deputy UN Ambassador Amanuel Giorgio – speaking on behalf of the eight African board members – stressed the importance of DEI in Unicef programmes to “ensure that no child is left behind.”
US diplomat Jonathan Shrier told the board that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programmes “violate the text and spirit of our laws by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy”.
“In addition, it is US policy to recognise two sexes, male and female, and not to promote gender ideology,” said Mr Shrier. “It is particularly disturbing that this language is being used in Unicef programming documents; children should be protected from this dangerous ideology and its possible results.”
When asked to respond, Unicef told Reuters it appreciates the work of the board and takes seriously comments by members, adding: “As highlighted by many members of the board, Unicef has a mandate to safeguard the rights of all children everywhere.”
Unicef is headed by executive director Catherine Russell, a former senior aide to Mr Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, who has about two years left on her term.
According to the latest data available, the United States was Unicef’s largest donor in 2023, providing more than US$1.4 billion.
Ahead of the executive board meeting of the UN World Food Programme next week, WFP’s Gender Protection and Inclusion service sent a note to some colleagues – seen by Reuters – offering advice on how to speak about the diversity of their work “in light of recent communications coming from the White House”.
“Specifically, we recommend proceeding with descriptive language rather than specific nomenclature,” read the note.
“Please avoid controversial language including LGBTQI+ and SOGIESC terminology… let’s avoid combining diversity, equity, inclusion and/or accessibility in one statement or sentence,” it said.
SOGIESC is an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
The WFP – run by American Cindy McCain – did not respond to a request for comment on the note.
In 2024, the United States was WFP’s biggest donor, providing more than US$4.4 billion.
The US also this week pushed UN Women to avoid a focus on “radical causes such as DEI and gender ideology, neither of which will improve the functioning of UN Women and both of which are demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls”.
UN Women executive director Sima Bahous thanked the US for its comment at the meeting on Feb 10, adding: “UN Women always embraces any review of our work.” In 2023, the US gave nearly US$19 million to the organisation.
When asked for comment on the US opposition to DEI and “gender ideology”, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the nearly 80-year-old world body strives to uphold the values of the founding UN Charter.
He noted that the Charter “strives ‘to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small’.” REUTERS
