President Donald J. Trump, center, sits to the left of Vice President Mike Pence, to the right of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, while holding up an executive order to build border wall and fulfill other campaign promises related to immigration. The orders were signed at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 in Washington. (Photo: AP)
President Donald J. Trump is preparing to sign an executive order “auditing and reducing” U.S. funding to the United Nations under certain criteria.
“Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations,” the first of two orders, calls for terminating funding for any U.N. agency or other international body that meets any one of several criteria.
Criteria include organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, or support programs that fund abortion or any activity that circumvents sanctions against Iran or North Korea. The draft order also calls for terminating funding for any organization that “is controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism” or is blamed for the persecution of marginalized groups or any other systematic violation of human rights.
The order comes a few weeks after the previous administration quietly gave $221 million to the Palestinian Authority. That was only hours before President Trump took the oath of office and after the Obama administration organized and permitted the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements last month.
Republicans in Congress who previously blocked the transfer, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have indicated support for a bill mirroring the action to be taken by the new administration. President Trump’s executive order calls for enacting “at least a 40 percent overall decrease” in remaining U.S. funding toward international organizations, which will focus on “peacekeeping operations” and decided by a committee established by the action.
[facebook-button]
While U.N. agencies rely on billions of dollars in U.S. contributions each year, many lawmakers argue–and voters agree–they have not acted in the best interest of allies and the nation. The most obvious of these examples is Israel, something even outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognized in his last address to the UN Security Council on Friday.
“Decades of political maneuverings have created a disproportionate volume of resolutions, reports and conferences criticizing Israel,” Ban said. “In many cases, rather than helping the Palestinian cause, this reality has hampered the ability of the UN to fulfill its role effectively.”
The second executive order, titled “Moratorium on New Multilateral Treaties,” calls for a review of all current and pending treaties between the U.S. and more than one other nation. It aims to get recommendations on which negotiations or treaties the U.S. should abandon because they are not “directly related to national security, extradition or international trade.”
