U.S. Withdraws Support for Hague Tribunal, RCC, CoE’s Venice Commission

Hague Tribunal

The list of international organizations, conventions and treaties the U.S. is withdrawing from includes the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and Council of Europe’s (CoE) Venice Commission, it was announced on Jan. 8.

The presidential memorandum, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 7, defines that the U.S. would withdraw from 66 international organizations, conventions and treaties that are in contradiction with the U.S. interests. In the document, Trump recollected that he issued Executive Order 14199 on Feb. 4, 2025, on the withdrawal of the U.S. from particular U.N. organizations and the cessation of their financing, and on the reviewing of U.S. support to all international organizations, the White House has announced.

As for the organizations and agencies of the United Nations, withdrawal envisages the cessation of participation in and financing of a total of 31 entities “in the degree permitted by law” it was stated in the memorandum and added that these included the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, which is to wrap up the remaining work of the Hague war crime tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The list includes 35 organizations which are not part of the U.N., which the U.S. will withdraw from in the shortest possible time, according to the document. These include the Regional Cooperation Council that rallies the Western Balkan countries with the aim of strengthening cooperation and accelerating the region’s European integration, and the Venice Commission of CoE, an advisory body consisting of independent legal experts who provide opinions and recommendations to countries on constitutional issues, democracy, rule of law and human rights.