President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from 66 international organizations, including several that safeguard creative rights and freedoms, via a January 7 memo. The New York-based Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) expressed deep concern, particularly over the impact on its partner, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). ARC listed affected organizations such as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, the Freedom Online Coalition, the UN Democracy Fund, UN Women, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and the International Development Law Organization, all of which support artistic freedom, cultural heritage, and protections for artists under threat.
This matters because the withdrawal weakens international frameworks that protect artists facing censorship, digital surveillance, forced displacement, and gender-based violence. ARC executive director Julie Trébault warned that disengagement from these institutions undermines global safeguards for artistic freedom and cultural workers. The move aligns with the administration's domestic policies, raising concerns about a cumulative effect on artistic freedom both in the U.S. and worldwide, as noted by ARC and Americans for the Arts.