By Michelle Nichols and Maya Gebeily
UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United States has warned U.N. organizations UNICEF and UN Women against any focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and gender ideology as a U.N. food official sought to avoid Washington’s ire by advising some staff to tone down language.
Since returning to power on January 20, U.S. 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 U.S. funding as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk seek ways to slash government spending.
“America provides way too much funding to the U.N. and associated entities,” Musk posted on X on Monday.
In the past three weeks Trump has stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.
Washington is the U.N.’s largest contributor – followed by China – accounting for 22% of the core U.N. budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. The U.N. has said the U.S. currently owes a total of $2.8 billion. These payments are not voluntary.
Over the past week at executive board meetings of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and UN Women, which works for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the U.S. laid out its opposition to either body promoting DEI and “gender ideology,” a loose term referencing non-traditional views on sex and gender.
The U.S. 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 U.S. 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 last Friday, Eritrea’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Amanuel Giorgio – speaking on behalf of the eight African board members – stressed the importance of DEI in UNICEF programs to “ensure that no child is left behind.”
U.S. diplomat Jonathan Shrier told the board that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs “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 U.S. policy to recognize two sexes, male and female, and not to promote gender ideology,” said 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 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 $1.4 billion.
AVOIDING “SPECIFIC NOMENCLATURE”
Ahead of the executive board meeting of the U.N. 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 $4.4 billion.
The U.S. 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 U.S. for its comment at the meeting on Monday, adding: “UN Women always embraces any review of our work.” In 2023 the U.S. gave nearly $19 million to the organization.
When asked for comment on the U.S. opposition to DEI and “gender ideology,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the nearly 80-year-old world body strives to uphold the values of the founding U.N. 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’.”
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Maya Gebeily, writing by Michelle Nichols, editing by Diane Craft)
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