UN confronts uncertainty as Trump's new agenda takes shape

RFI

15 November 2024 at 1:15 am·1-min read

Donald Trump leaves the podium after speaking during the UN General Assembly in September 2017.

The United Nations and other global organisations are bracing for four more years of Donald Trump, who famously tweeted that the 193-member body was “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time”.

During his first term, Trump cut off funding to the UN’s health and family planning agencies, withdrew from its cultural organisation Unesco and the Human Rights Council, and raised tariffs on China and long-time allies in defiance of the World Trade Organisation’s rules.

The US is the UN’s biggest single contributor, covering 22 percent of its regular budget.

This week, Trump signalled his direction for the UN by selecting Republican Representative Elise Stefanik as his candidate for UN ambassador.

The fourth-highest ranking House member, Stefanik recently called for a “complete reassessment” of US funding for the UN, including halting support for its Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.

President Joe Biden paused the funding after UNRWA fired several staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas in 2023.

The Trump 2.0 agenda

Speculation regarding Donald Trump’s future policies is rampant, with observers from Washington and beyond engaging in discussions over what his return to the presidency might mean for the United Nations and global relations.

Trump’s first term provides insight into his potential policies. He withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement – a decision Biden later reversed but which Trump could undo again if elected.

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The Trump 2.0 agenda

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