UNITED NATIONS, New York—As the new US administration under President Donald Trump threatens to reduce American funding to the United Nations, member states are concerned that it could affect the organization’s programs worldwide, and ask the US to stay committed.
“Our main message to the American administration is: please stay committed to world affairs.” French Ambassador to the UN Francois Delattre told reporters on Friday.
“We need America,” he said.
Concerns were raised after the new US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that obsolete things could be done away with.
“For those who don’t have our back we are taking names,” Haley said.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who was appointed ambassador to the UN, echoed President Trump’s sentiment that it was time to rethink the US position and funding to the world body.
“We will make points to respond to that accordingly,” she said. “But this is a time of strength. This is a time of action. And anything that seems to be obsolete and not necessary we are gonna do away with.”
Trump himself has been a major critic of the UN and promised to reduce America’s funding to the organization by at least 40 percent.
In late December he said in a tweet: “The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, whose organization seeks to eradicate poverty in third world countries and restore peace in conflict zones through its peacekeeping missions, said, “Member states negotiate and agree on a scale of assessment.”
In response to a question from Rudaw correspondent Majeed Gly about the US cutting funds, Dujarric said: “I am not going to speculate on things that may or may not happen that have only been reported in the media.”
from Rudaw http://ift.tt/2kDAeQM
via Defense News
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