U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and President Donald Trump attend a working lunch with ambassadors on the UN Security Council. (Photo: Reuters)
President Donald Trump brought a message of reform and fairness to his first ever appearance before the United Nations (UN). The President is reinvigorating a more-than decade old effort to make the UN more effective in realizing the goals of its Charter
and putting an end to the corruption that has plagued the global body.
“We affirm our commitment to the United Nations reform,” President Trump said. “In recent years, the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement.”
The UN has been a cesspool for corruption, bias and abuse of power. Even after a 2006 reform, the Human Rights Council continued to condemn Israel more than any other state and the global body has moved further away from serving the interests of the U.S. and its allies.
Following the Oil-for-Food scandal — the most-well known instance of corruption in which they profited from billions in Baghdad kickbacks and attempted to cover it up — the UN in 2006 vowed to move toward greater transparency and accountability. Then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon arrived took office in 2007 promising “to restore trust” and supporting for a system-wide audit.
But they never achieved these reforms. President Trump made clear no nation should have to disproportionately pay the UN bills and the U.S. will demand reforms for its money.
“We must ensure that no one… shoulders a disproportionate share of the burden and that’s militarily or financially.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said President Trump “has a businessman’s eye for seeing potential and he sees great potential… in the United Nations.”
The United States is the largest provider of financial contributions to the United Nations. In 2015, the U.S. provided 22% of the UN budget and 28% of the peacekeeping budget. Meanwhile, China pays just 8% and Russia pays around 3%. The disparity gives the U.S. great leverage over the UN, which past presidents have been hesitant to use.
Despite his frequent criticisms of the global institution, President Trump’s administration has had some serious success at the U.N. Security Council, particularly on North Korea. They twice voted unanimously on U.S.-led resolutions imposing the most severe sanctions ever on Pyongyang.
Resolution 2371, the first round of sanctions, cost the rogue regime roughly $1 billion in exports. Last week, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to ban textile exports and capping fuel supplies.
President Trump will meet with world leaders to promote reform, first with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later French President Emmanuel Macron. Later in the day, he’ll meet with Latin American leaders. On Tuesday, President Trump will give his first address to the UN General Assembly, the highlight of the 4-day summit in his hometown.
