With the national debt at more than $21 trillion, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley doesn’t feel continuing to pay for more than 25 percent of the UN’s peacekeeping activities is wise.
On March 28, 2018, the former governor of South Carolina announced the United States will end this excessively benevolent practice. At this time, Haley informed the Security Council that “peacekeeping is a shared responsibility…all of us have a role to play, and all of us must step up.”
Even though the United Nations is comprised of 193 countries, the United States is currently paying for approximately 28.5 percent of the organization’s peacekeeping operations. Contributing 10 percent, China pays the second largest amount. When Haley arrived at the United Nations in January of 2017, she vowed to look at what was working, and fix what wasn’t. She said “anything that seems to be obsolete and not necessary, we’re going to do away with.” In June of 2017, she began fulfilling her promise.
Due partly to pressure from the Trump administration, the United Nations slashed $600 million from its peacekeeping budget last summer. The move will save the United States an estimated $150 million this year alone.
“Just five months into our time here, we’ve already been able to cut over half a billion dollars from the U.N. peacekeeping budget and we’re only getting started,” Haley said.
Besides helping to diminish the United Nation’s inflated peacekeeping budget, Haley also negotiated a $285 million cut in America’s contributions to the organization’s biennial operating budget on December of 2017. The United Nation’s operating budget spans two-year periods beginning every even-numbered year. So, the $285 million cut will affect the 2018-2019 operating budget.
Regarding the savings, Haley said, “The inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations are well known. We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked…In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key US priorities throughout the world and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system.”
Since taking office in January of 2017, the Trump administration has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the United Nations. Both the organization’s handling of finances and its motion to dispute President Trump’s acknowledgement of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have particularly frustrated the Trump White House. During her tenure as Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley has voiced strong support for Israel. On March 23, 2018, the United Nation’s Human Right’s Council passed five new anti-Israel resolutions. Furious with the decision, Haley said, “every March, the council sets aside only two sessions to debate human rights violations and abuses in all countries and another entire session just to debate a single country, Israel.”
The former governor of South Carolina referenced that only one resolution was passed against Iran, North Korea, and Syria correspondingly.
“When the Human Rights Council treats Israel worse than North Korea, Iran and Syria, it is the council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name,” Haley said.
She insisted that the nations who knew better should start demanding changes. The Ambassador revealed numerous countries believe the council’s treatment of Israel is fundamentally wrong. However, she regretted that not many nations were willing to do anything about the situation. Citing the limits of the patience of the United States, the ambassador said “today’s actions make clear that the organization lacks the credibility needed to be a true advocate for human rights.”
On March 27, 2018, Haley aired her frustration with the United Nation’s Security Council concerning its laissez-faire treatment of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta area. Citizens of this region have dealt with devastating casualties. The ambassador penned the blame for the continuing catastrophe on Russian and Iranian troops who were conspiring with Syrian forces under President Bashar al-Assad.
“This is a travesty,” she said. “This should be a day of shame for every member of this council, and it should be a lesson about what happens when we focus on fleeting displays of unity, instead of on what’s right. History will not be kind when it judges the effectiveness of this council in relieving the suffering of the Syrian people.”
~ Liberty Planet
