U.S. Negotiates $285 Million Budget Cut to UN, May Cut Even More

U.S. Negotiates $285 Million Budget Cut to UN, May Cut Even More

Last Thursday, the United Nations (UN) voted to condemn America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and decision to move its embassy to the city.

Professor Jacobson pointed out in a follow up post that the vote gave President Donald Trump to turn that loss into a win with money. The UN loves to crap on America, even though we host the UN and contribute a ton of money into the organization that has basically become useless.

That is exactly what Trump has done: $285 million budget cut to the UN. There may be more cuts to come, too.

On Christmas Eve, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley announced the $285 million cut to the organization’s 2018-2019 budget. She stated that everyone knows about the “inefficiency and overspending” of the UN and she intends to not allow “the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of.”

The cuts include “across-the-board cuts in expenses for travel, consultants and other operating expenses” along with a tightening of “rules on on compensation and new ways to maximize the us of United Nations headquarters in New York to reduce the need for expensive leased space.”

Haley promised the UN that during future negotiations, “you can be sure we’ll continue to look at ways to increase the U.N.’s efficiency while protecting our interests.”

Professor Jacobson wrote:

Trump also needs to make the UN pay a price, which is more than a monetary issue. It is an opportunity to shrink the size of the anti-American, anti-Israel UN bureaucracy, and to undo Obamas legacy of subjugating the American political process to the will of the UN, on a host of issues from climate to the Iran nuclear deal.

The U.S. contributes $10 billion per year to the UN, of which $4 billion are assessed dues, and $6 billion are voluntary contributions. This places the US as the largest funder of the UN by far, more than double what China contributes. Trump should announce that he has instructed the state department and other necessary agencies to propose a specific plan that cuts the US contribution in half. That would still leave us as the largest funder, but would present the UN with serious consequences.

The US could still maintain some voluntary funding that serves our interests, and would continue to participate in the Security Council. But the days when American taxpayers funded people who actively work against us would come to an end.

However, the announcement did not say that the cut is in America’s contribution. But if you look at the numbers the professor stated, our cut could go down. At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey wrote that if “the percentage applies evenly to the savings, we cut our total outlay by $62.7 million.” The UN’s budget is at $5.4 billion. Morrissey continued:

As a percentage of the overall budget, the cuts announced by Haley amount to just under 5.3%. That’s not insignificant — a 5.3% cut in real terms to the US federal budget would remove $217 billion in spending — but it’s not a crippling blow either. Plus, it seems very unlikely to have been part of a punishment for the General Assembly vote that took place last week, as budget negotiations would have been going on for months.

Human rights groups have decided to wait on more details of the cuts before making statements. They hope it doesn’t affect the UN’s “ability to monitor abuses or respond to emergencies – major parts of its work.” However, the groups did not disagree with the cuts…they just hope it doesn’t affect the human rights portion of the UN.

Then again, what good has the UN done when it comes to human rights? Look at the human rights council for 2017. THEY HAVE VENEZUELA AND SAUDI ARABIA AND CUBA ON THE PANEL. If the UN cared so much about human rights then why do they have countries on the council that regularly violate human rights?!

Let’s not forget the numerous child sexual abuse cases against supposed UN “peacekeepers” in Central African Republic (CAR). Dozens of French peacekeepers faced accusations of sexually abusing children in the former French colony, including forcing young girls to have sex with a dog. UNICEF interviewed 98 girls and the reports went to top officials at the UN. The French peacekeepers went back to France. However, in January, a judge decided not to pursue charges.

Then the organization decided to suspend its employee Anders Kompass after he leaked the information about the scandal in CAR because the organization did not do anything to address the scandal.

In 2005, an internal UN report found numerous sexual abuse accusations against peacekeepers in Haiti, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Cambodia, East Timor, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They also faced allegations in Liberia of “having sex with girls as young as 12.” The peacekeepers often exchanged sex for food or money.

This past April, reports came out that UN peacekeepers formed child sex rings in Haiti when the UN stepped in after the ouster of President Jean-Bertrande Aristide in 2004. Victim V01 told the AP that for three years, between the ages of 12 and 15, “she had sex with nearly 50 peacekeepers, including a ‘Commandant’ who gave her 75 cents.” The men even taught the children how to speak Sinhalese so they “could understand express sexual innuendo.” The UN investigators noticed the children used the language to communicate.

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