Today, President Trump will address the UN General Assembly. As New Yorkers fume over traffic nightmares created by the president and by hordes of visiting diplomats, they may (again) question, as do many Americans, why U.S. taxpayers support this badly managed and scandal-scarred institution. Especially when the UN so frequently works against our interests and seems incapable of accomplishing its primary mission.
A new Gallup poll shows that 73% of Americans think the UN does a poor job of “maintaining international peace and security” and 70% say the same about the UN “upholding international law” and “protecting human rights.” Thats a lousy report card for an organization that spends roughly $70 billion per year.
Elsewhere in the world, the UN scores better, which is not surprising since poor countries, which constitute the majority of members, look to wealthier nations for handouts via the UN. The nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, are especially keen on the sprawling organization.
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How does that wealth transfer happen? One way was described by President Trumps UN Ambassador Mike Waltz in recent testimony before Congress: “The UN let countries use peacekeeping missions as cash cows for their militaries. Peacekeepers could bring equipment, park it, never use it, take it home brand new, and get it paid for by the UN.” Those operations can employ “10,000 to 18,000 soldiers”; the costs, Walz says, are “quite significant”. He is ending that practice â just one step in reforming the bloated UN, whose budget has quadrupled over the past 25 years.
Americans have reason for skepticism, given the frequent votes that go against the U.S. or our ally Israel. For thirty-three years in a row, the General Assembly has voted to end our embargo on Cuba, and for decades it has opposed Israels attempts to protects its citizens from Palestinian terrorists. Waltz calls the body a “cesspool of antisemitism.”
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Not only is the UN frequently hostile to the US; it is often ridiculous. Most recently, the UN voted overwhelmingly to adopt a new map which blows up Africas presence on the globe; the US was the sole dissenter. In a memo explaining our outlier vote, Deputy U.S. Representative Yaryna Ferencevych called such resolutions “barnacles on our work here” and wrote: “Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace⦠this body is debating map projects from the 16th century, and their role in promoting reparations and “cognitive justice.”
The UN rarely has much real-world impact. Critics might question, for instance, what the UN has done to resolve the Russia-Ukraine War, or how it has helped keep the worlds oil flowing through the Straits of Hormuz. The answer in both cases is zero.
Instead, the UN is hyper-focused on climate change, gender equality and other issues that may scratch a globalist itch, but appear little related to the cause of peace.
Meanwhile, the UN is going broke. Last year the Economist reported: “On May 5th the UN will brief members on a previously unreported $
