President Donald Trump and his Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, have made several announcements this past week, claiming the Trump administration is partially responsible for U.N.’s 2018-2-19 budget cuts. Haley says there will be more cuts to come as well.
“We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked,” Ms. Haley said. “This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable U.N. – is a big step in the right direction. While we are pleased with the results of this year’s budget negotiations, you can be sure we’ll continue to look at ways to increase the U.N.’s efficiency while protecting our interests.”
Under an article of the United Nations Charter, the U.S. is responsible for 22 percent of the U.N.’s operating budget. The U.S. is also responsible for 28.5 percent of the U.N.’s peacekeeping operations budget.
According to the United States Mission to the United Nations, these budget cuts will effect expenses for travel, consultants and operating expenses. It was also discussed that the headquarters be moved to New York in order to reduce the cost of leasing space.
“There’s nothing wrong with increasing efficiency and eliminating waste at the U.N.,” Louis Charbonneau, the United Nations director at Human Rights Watch says. “But it’s crucial that we don’t curtail the U.N.’s ability to monitor, investigate and expose human rights abuses or its ability to save the lives of men, women and children worldwide.”
Recently, Trump had threatened to cut off aid to any U.N. country that voted against recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “Let them vote against us,” the U.S. President said. “We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”
COMMENTS