UNITED NATIONS, Aug 29 (IPS) – The Communist Manifesto of yesteryear, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, begins with a blunt warning: “A miracle haunts Europe – the idea of Communism.”
And today another surprise is surprising– this time at the United Nations – the thought of Trump’s second presidency.
When Trump took office in January 2017, he defunded, withdrew, or discredited many UN agencies and related agencies, including the World Health Organization, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), and World Trade. Organization (WTO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Human Rights Council, among others.
In the unlikely event of a second Trump presidency, should the UN be preparing for another political nightmare?
According to a report by Cable News Network (CNN) last October, Trump was quoted as saying that if he is re-elected to the White House, he will restore and expand the ban on the movement of people from Muslim-majority countries, stop the resettlement of refugees and deport them violently. whom he described as “jihadist sympathizers.”
He cited Hamas attacks on Israel as the reason for his strict immigration policies. Trump also said he would ban travel from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya “anywhere else that threatens our security.”
When Trump first entered the podium in the General Assembly hall, he looked at hundreds of foreign delegates from 192 countries, and reportedly asked: “How the hell do we get into this country?”, according to a joke that was broadcast in the country. UN watering hole, guest lounge.
There have also been rumors of a new slogan promoting tourism during the Trump presidency: “Visit us with a one-way ticket – we’ll drive you away for free”.
Meanwhile, at a 2017 White House briefing, Trump apparently said that all Haitians “have AIDS”; that Nigerians should “go back to their homes in Africa’; and asked why the US should accept people from “shithole countries” in Africa, according to a New York Times report.
And he showed his ignorance by asking if the UK is a nuclear power – and whether Nepal (which he calls Nipple) and Bhutan (pronounced Button) were part of India?
Asked about Trump’s second term as president, Kul Gautam, former UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Director General of the UN children’s agency UNICEF told IPS: “Yes, there will be a lot of potential risk and a lot of uncertainty in the UN system. if there happens to be a 2nd Trump presidency”.
However, he pointed out that the level of danger will depend on what happens in the US Congress. If Trump wins and the US House of Representatives and the Senate are also captured by the Republicans, the UN may face mortal danger.
Also, remember that earlier this year House Republicans cut funding for the general budget of the UN and more than a dozen UN agencies, including UNICEF and WHO.
Therefore, the worst case scenario for the UN would be Trump in the White House and a majority of Republicans in both chambers of the US Congress.
But if one or both Houses of Congress are controlled by the Democratic Party, Trump alone will not cause irreparable damage to the UN. However, US funding of certain UN organizations will cause serious damage to those UN organizations and the important services they provide, said Gautam, author of “My Journey From the Mountains of Nepal to the Halls of the United Nationss”.www.kulgautam.org).
Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Director of International Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the United Nations, told IPS: “Yes, this would be a disaster and the UN funding of these organizations and institutions connected to it. you will really be cut”.
It should be noted, however, that Biden has already removed US funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and threatened to end funding to any organization that has Palestine as a full member. Although Harris tends to be more against international law than Biden, I have not seen any indication that Harris will reverse these policies, said Zunes.
“Given Trump’s disdain for domestic laws and institutions, it is not surprising that he would have the same disdain for international laws and institutions,” he said.
Samir Sanbar, former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and head of the Department of Public Information (DPI), told IPS apart from receiving senior UN officials at Trump Tower, across from the UN Headquarters, the former American President also enjoyed living in a large area. at the head of state lunch table at the opening of the General Assembly session.
Under the Trump presidency, he said, there is however a great risk of blocking payments to UN Agencies and Funds, especially UNRWA, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees and promotes their right to return. Also, WHO and UNICEF will probably face cuts especially in their aid to Gaza.
“And I read somewhere that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would like to rid Gaza of its two million people to make it a tourist destination,” Sanbar said.
Commenting on the current threat of US funding cuts to the UN, Gautam said that the blessing in disguise of huge US funding to the UN would be for the organization to seriously explore alternative long-term funding. the UN and reduced its dependence heavily on US funding.
In order to avoid the constant threats and distrust of the US and sometimes other member states withdraw from the UN, “I am ready to renew, re-examine and reorganize the creative proposal presented by the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme back in 1985.
Palme suggested that no country should be asked or allowed to contribute more than 10 percent to the UN budget.”
That would mean a lot to reduce the US share of the UN budget from 25% to 10%; and moderate increases in contributions by many other countries.
“I am NOT Palme’s proposal to reduce the excessive dependence of the UN on a few major donors, and in the same way to reduce the undue influence of those countries in the appointment of high-level functions of the UN, and other decision-making processes”.
“Today, many UN activities benefit from the voluntary contributions of governments, as well as private companies, and aid foundations. I believe that we must seriously explore new opportunities like these, including income from the Global Commons and the Tobin Tax, to free the UN. from to constant threats of unfair cuts and kickbacks by big donors.”
And it is worth remembering that in the large international financial system, in the world economy of 103 trillion dollars and the global military budget of 2.4 trillion dollars per year, the regular budget of the UN for the year is less than 4 billion dollars, and the total budget of the program UN. with humanitarian assistance, development cooperation, peacekeeping operations, technical assistance and other important regular activities, it amounts to less than 50 billion dollars per year.
“This is a small amount to respond to the major challenges that the UN is asked and expected to help address. To put it in perspective, the money spent on the entire UN system every year is far less than one month that the US spends on defense, and it is much less than US military aid to only in Israel or Ukraine.”
With the same investments, bilateral aid and national budgets of very large proportions we will not be able to achieve results comparable to those achieved by the UN and international financial institutions, declared Gautam.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
