US President Donald Trump will make his debut on the United Nations stage on Tuesday with his address to the annual General Assembly session, setting out his global priorities and pushing for long-pending UN reforms against the backdrop of the deepening North Korean nuclear challenge.
Trump, who as presidential candidate denounced the “utter weakness and incompetence” of the United Nations and mooted deep cuts to US funding of the institution, will indeed be kicking off the engagements by hosting on Monday a meeting of about 100 global leaders on reforming the world body.
“We all can say it is a new day at the UN,” exulted Nikki Haley, the US’s Indian-American Ambassador to the United Nations at a White House news conference on Friday. Implying that there is already a course correction at the bidding of Washington, she commented: “The UN has shifted over the past several months. It’s not just about talking, it’s about action.”
Quizzed specifically on the prospects of UN Security Council reform that has been a subject of utmost priority for India and several other countries, Haley commented that the matter is “still being talked about”, adding: “I know that it is something that India wants. Many other countries want it as well. So we’ll have to wait and see.”
Saying it is “very, very important” that President Trump will be highlighting the UN reform issue, Haley said: “We’ve got a massive reform package being led by the Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) that really streamlines not just the processes, but also the budget as it goes forward, and makes the UN much more effective.”
“We basically have the President headlining a UN reform effort, which would really support the Secretary-General. But the impressive part is, we asked other countries to sign on to their support of reform, and 120 countries have signed on and will be in attendance,” she said.
President Trump’s focus all through the week at the UN will be on three goals, National Security Advisor lt Gen HR McMaster said. “First, to promote peace. Second, to promote prosperity. And third, to uphold sovereignty and accountability. A peaceful world depends on the contributions of all nations. We must share responsibility for international security, while each country protects the security of its own people.” On the troubling North Korean nuclear push, which has overtaken other issues to emerge on top of global concerns on the eve of the UN session, Haley touted the latest US-led push for sweeping economic sanctions that has been unanimously approved by the Security Council.
“We have cut off now 90 per cent of trade going into North Korea, and they are saying that this was strangling. So whether some believe it's big or small, I think what the President is saying is this is just the beginning of what we can do,” Haley said, highlighting the fact that the new sanctions were cleared by a 15-0 record, with China and Russia being on board with the stiff measure.
Conceding that Pyongyang continues to be “provocative” and “reckless”, Haley told a questioner who wondered if it was not time for the US to shift its North Korean strategy: “So, having said that, I have no problem kicking it to (Defence Secretary) General Mattis, because I think he has plenty of options.”