The UN is fundamentally flawed.
Nikki Hayley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations has proved that to the world today. Hayley has made America’s stance clear. Apparently, Trump and co are doing what the people of America want. I don’t recall any open discussion regarding the moving of embassies, do you?
Hayley made a statement prior to the UN General Assembly’s vote:
“America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do. And it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that.”
On Wednesday, President Trump said that he might cut financial aid to states who voted in favour of the resolution. Essentially, he is threatening those who take a stand against America.
“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us… Well, we’re watching those votes… Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”
Even with these threats pouring out of the President’s mouth, the result of the UN resolution came at a 182 – 9 in favour of rejecting Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. One of the key points to take from this are the 35 nations who abstained – Canada being one of these nations. I am surprised, really, by the countries who choosed to abstain. It says a lot about the strength of a country and that US aid is of more importance rather than thinking of global repercussions this decision by Trump has caused already. ‘Days of Rage’ are still ongoing, people are dying, being detained, and are victims at the hands of IDF (Israeli Defence Force).
The total list of countries who abstained are as follows:
Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Haiti, Hungary, Jamaica, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda and Vanuatu.
Israeli prime minister Netanyahu has already rejected the decision from the UN. (Obviously, not a surprise).
The United Nations will now be useless against Trump and America, as Nikki Hayley has pointed out by saying that the US is the “single largest contributor” to the UN. Moreover, America is now being “asked to pay for the privilege of being disrespected”
So, Nikki, what you are saying, is that every member state within the UN General Assembly has to agree with the United States, because it is most powerful nation behind the United Nations?
I for one, am pleased that the nations who voted in favour of the resolution, stood their ground. This shows that America is losing their superpower status and countries are now taking a stand. For too long, America has held the cards over what is right and what is wrong, using fear as a tool to this day and age in the political landscape.
Some tweets regarding the resolution are eye opening.
We did the math. We counted not just the votes at the UN on the resolution rebuking Trump's Jerusalem move, but the POPULATION SIZE THE VOTES REPRESENTED.
It's not a pretty picture.
90.5% of world population voted to rebuke Trump
9% abstained
Only 0.5% (!!) voted WITH the US pic.twitter.com/LwJtRclBN2— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) December 22, 2017
When you look at the #UNGA gallery, remember that the people voting against the U.S. and #Israel largely represent Islamic supremacists, tinpot dictators and/or anti-Western leftists. So yes, we should stand proudly against them all. #Jerusalem
— Benjamin Weingarten (@bhweingarten) December 21, 2017
U.S., through Nikki Haley, threatened and bullied allies over the #UNGA vote condemning moving the embassy's move to Jerusalem. The fact they still voted NO should speak volumes. Everyone, including European allies, realize this is a reckless decision.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) December 21, 2017
India, one of America’s closest allies, voted in favour of the resolution. This could potentially lead to fragile ties and exchages between the two.
Will the United States take heed from this resolution? I wouldn’t take any bets on that. The USA always does what it wants, and expects the world to sit back and do nothing. Now, is the time for change. Today’s vote has been a wake-up call to the United Nations.
Will Trump cut financial aid from his few allies that remain? Only time will tell.
Featured Image Credit: NATO
