Trump Takes Aim at United Nations Funding, International Bodies and Treaties

In another round of executive orders that are coming, President Donald Trump took aim at global funding and treaties, including funding of United Nations agencies.

The New York Times reports:

The Trump administration is preparing executive orders that would clear the way to drastically reduce the United States’ role in the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as begin a process to review and potentially abrogate certain forms of multilateral treaties.

The first of the two draft orders, titled “Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations” and obtained by The New York Times, calls for terminating funding for any United Nations agency or other international body that meets any one of several criteria.

Those criteria include organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, or support programs that fund abortion or any activity that circumvents sanctions against Iran or North Korea. The draft order also calls for terminating funding for any organization that “is controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism” or is blamed for the persecution of marginalized groups or any other systematic violation of human rights.

“At least a 40 percent overall decrease” in remaining United States funding toward international organizations is called for in the order.

It also establishes a committee to recommend where funding cuts should be made. That committee would look specifically at US funding for peacekeeping operations, International Criminal Court, development aid to countries that “oppose important United States policies,” and the United Nations Population Fund.

The funding would seriously cripple the UN’s funding for a lot of its work because it depends on billions from the US.

NYT went on to report on another executive order:

The second executive order, “Moratorium on New Multilateral Treaties,” calls for a review of all current and pending treaties with more than one other nation. It asks for recommendations on which negotiations or treaties the United States should leave.

The order says this review applies only to multilateral treaties that are not “directly related to national security, extradition or international trade,” but it is unclear what falls outside these restrictions.

For example, the Paris climate agreement or other environmental treaties deal with trade issues but could potentially fall under this order.

I must say, this is probably the most welcome move from President Trump I have seen thus far, and the others have been very impressive also. It’s a good start towards fully defunding the anti-Christian, anti-American United Nations.