Tobias Sylvester
President Donald Trump has officially sent a letter to the United Nations (UN) seeking to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The notice of withdrawal was delivered to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the letter has not been made public.
Senator Robert Menendez, tweeted on Tuesday night that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had received notification of the withdrawal:
“Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic.
“To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests-it leaves Americans sick & America alone.”
Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic.
To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn't do it justice. This won't protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone.
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) July 7, 2020
The decision to withdraw from WHO in the middle of a pandemic puts the United States at odds with traditional allies,
Under the terms of a joint resolution passed by Congress in 1948, the US must give a year’s notice in writing and pay its debts to the agency in order to leave.
It is not even clear whether President Trump can pull the US out of the health organisation and withdraw funding without the Congress.
KanyiDaily recalls that when President Trump first threatened to withdraw, Democratic lawmakers argued that doing so would be illegal and vowed to push back.
In April 2020, the US President announced that he was freezing all new funding to the organisation, pending a review of the organisation’s coronavirus response.
