Trump Clips The United Nations
The Trump Administration is treating the United Nations as one of the subsidiaries of the United States. In 2016, the U.S. provided at least 20% of the UN budget: "In 2016, the United States remained the largest donor to the United Nations, contributing more than $10 billion, roughly one fifth of its collective budget."
The news in the new week is that U.S. is pulling away from the accord reached last year on migration, according to the CNN 5 Things. The U.S. will create its own policy and that will likely be the one that matters. America remains the most generous nation and even in the Trump era, no one will come close to its numbers.
The Trump administration wants to go its own way when it comes to migration. The US told the UN it'll no longer take part in a global compact on migration. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said such a UN compact would undermine US sovereignty and the right for it to enforce its immigration laws and secure its borders. The US has been a part of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants since it was formed last year. The declaration wants to ensure the rights of migrants, help them resettle and provide them with access to education and jobs.
It is indeed unprecedented for a national government to treat the United Nations in this way. This is a message to the world: we need to work for the "rise of the rest' as that will ensure that dislocations in global policies do not happen. UN knows that it cannot make too much noise as Trump government can withdraw the about $10 billion cheque it sends yearly.
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The migration is really about Africa, Latin America and selected countries in Asia. While anyone may fault U.S., in this age of terrorism, it has a case when it noted that it would like to secure its borders and enforce its immigration laws. What the world needs to do is to support poor countries to make this refugee issue not to rise in the first place.