Presidents FDR and Harry Truman who helped establish the UN after WWII, and Woodrow Wilson who did so much to found the League of Nations after WW1 (but the predecessors of Mike Lee dissuaded the US from joining the League) must be turning in their graves at this nativist, isolationist initiative of Republican legislators to DEFUND and withdraw from the UN.
In their supreme, self-righteous arrogance buttressed by Donald Trump and his MAGA brigade, the US threatens to withdraw from the UN, NATO, G-20, and many international organizations and thwart the whole multilateral system not recognizing that no country, no matter how rich and powerful, can survive and thrive in today's inter-dependent world. Historically, great empires in their twilight years before their eventual decline have acted with similar hubris as the US under MAGA brigade is doing now.
This hubris too will pass one day soon, but sadly it will do much damage to the world and the US itself before enlightened common sense prevails and the isolationists are isolated.
Kul Gautam
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Lee introduces DEFUND Act to Pull USA from UN
February 20, 2025
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act, which calls for the United States' complete withdrawal from the United Nations (UN). This legislation addresses grave issues of national sovereignty and fiscal accountability which have plagued US involvement in the UN. The DEFUND Act is co-sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) . House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) are introducing the companion bill in the House of Representatives.
"No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans' hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values, enabling tyrants, betraying allies, and spreading bigotry," said Sen. Mike Lee. "With the DEFUND Act, we're stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the UN in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause."
“The United Nations has betrayed our trust time and time again, and we cannot continue to be their cash cow and undermine our own national security and interests,” said Senator Blackburn. “The DEFUND Act would stop all forms of U.S. financial support to the UN and hold this wayward organization accountable for placating Hamas terrorists and the Chinese Communist Party.”
“From UNRWA actively protecting Hamas and acting against our ally Israel, delayed condemning Hamas, to China being elected to the “Human Rights Council," to the propagation of climate hysteria, covering for China's forced abortion and sterilization programs, the UN's decades-old, internal rot once again raises the questions of why the United States is even still a member or why we're wasting billions — indeed, $12.5 billion in 2021 — every year on it,” said Rep. Chip Roy. “The UN doesn’t deserve one single dime of American taxpayer money or one bit of our support; we should defund it and leave immediately. I am proud to lead this critical effort alongside Mike Lee and Mike Rogers.”
Key Elements of the DEFUND Act:
- Repeals critical acts that bind the U.S. to the UN, such as the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act.
- Ceases all forms of U.S. financial support to the UN, including assessed and voluntary contributions.
- Prohibits any U.S. involvement in UN peacekeeping operations.
- Revokes diplomatic immunity for UN officials within the United States.
- Formalizes withdrawal from the World Health Organization and other UN conventions.
- Sets stringent conditions for any future engagement with the UN, requiring Senate approval with explicit withdrawal provisions.
The introduction of the DEFUND Act comes in response to years of unchecked bureaucratic expansion and financial misuse by the UN at the expense of American taxpayers. Senator Lee's legislation reflects his commitment to upholding the ideals of fiscal responsibility and self-determination that are the bedrock of the United States.
You can read the one-pager by clicking HERE.
This is, indeed, a shocking indictment of the current US regime and we have already seen the terrible consequences of their isolationist actions, notably the withdrawal of funding from WHO and the closure of USAID.
ReplyDeleteI see two sides to this situation. One, sure enough, is the devastating blow this is already having not only on multilateralism but also the real lives of the poorest people in the world, as vital services are denied them.
The other side is the need to rethink the whole multilateral system, including the UN agencies. Surely we are coming to a point that the old system is no longer sustainable and, indeed, is no longer fit for purpose. At 80 years old perhaps it is time for a major renovation. I would like to know who in the world is to step forward and be the champion of a new, perhaps slimmer but certainly more effective, UN system that can rebuild respect and tackle the challenges of the world in a way that once again promotes the rights of all people, indeed creatures, of this planet to a decent life and future. I don't see immediately many candidates around the world leaders of today, but maybe there is a way to build momentum and discover the champions of the future. I certainly hope so, for without this I sincerely fear for the world that my grandchildren will grow up in. Any ideas?