Isolated Trump opens ideological divide at UN
If Donald Trump is right, the UN’s relevance is in grave doubt. But other leaders still see it as the world’s best hope.
Agaping ideological divide cuts through this year’s gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. It’s not between capitalists and communists, rich and poor, East and West. It’s between multilateralists who advocate nations working together and unilateralists who are pushing for national sovereignty.
Despite near-universal handwringing about the UN’s failings, it was clear who was in the minority as United States President Donald Trump addressed the General Assembly yesterday morning.
Trump stood alone in his unashamed defence of the ‘‘America First’’ agenda that helped propel him to power – an isolationist worldview that questions the worth of international organisations.
Earlier, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world had a bad case of ‘‘trust deficit disorder’’ and risked ‘‘runaway climate change’’, as he urged global leaders to abandon unilateralism and reinvigorate co-operation as the only way to tackle the challenges and threats of increasingly chaotic times.
The UN chief painted a grim picture of the state of the world in his opening address to the annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and government officials from the UN’s 193 member nations. He pointed to rising polarisation and populism, ebbing cooperation, ‘‘fragile’’ trust in international institutions and ‘‘outrage’’ at the inability to end wars around the world.
‘‘Democratic principles are under siege,’’ Guterres said. ‘‘The world is more connected, yet societies are becoming more fragmented. Challenges are growing outward, while many people are turning inward. Multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most.’’
In contrast, Trump defended an America-first policy, rejecting ‘‘global governance, control and domination’’. He said he expected other nations to honour America’s sovereignty in return.
‘‘America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.’’
But French President Emmanuel Macron assailed selfinterest in his address soon after Trump, saying ‘‘nationalism always leads to defeat’’. He drew loud applause for his impassioned plea against isolationism and for global co-operation.
‘‘Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism,’’ he said. ‘‘Don’t accept our history unravelling. I’m not getting used to this, and I’m not turning my head.’’
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took a dig at Trump in his own speech, indirectly, if not by name. ‘‘Confronting multilateralism is not a sign of strength; rather it is a symptom of the weakness of intellect – it betrays an inability in understanding a complex and interconnected world,’’ he said.
Guterres highlighted two challenges that have taken on ‘‘surpassing urgency’’ since last year: climate change and new risks from advances in technology.
‘‘Climate change is moving faster than we are,’’ he warned. ‘‘If we do not change course in the next two years, we risk runaway climate change . . . Our future is at stake.’’
He said artificial intelligence, blockchain and biotechnology could potentially ‘‘turbocharge progress’’, but also posed risks and serious dangers.
General Assembly president Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces opened the gathering by echoing Guterres’ appeal on multilateralism, saying the General Assembly was ‘‘the only place where a meeting of this kind is possible’’, and where all countries ‘‘have the opportunity to hear and be heard’’.
Espinosa Garces, of Ecuador, said the UN’s global contribution has been immense, from international law and the promotion of peace to human rights, combatting poverty and preserving the environment.
‘‘The reality is that the work of the United Nations is as relevant today as it was 73 years ago,’’ she said.
‘‘Multilateralism stands alone as the only viable response to the global problems that we are faced with. To undermine multilateralism, or to cast a doubt upon its merits, will only lead to instability and division, to mistrust and polarisation.’’
Trump, however, devoted much of his sombre 35-minute address to promoting his ‘‘America first’’ agenda.
He also outlined the argument for his disruptive approach to foreign affairs, from the Middle East to North Korea, where he has upended traditional diplomacy by discarding long-
‘‘Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. Don’t accept our history unravelling.’’ French President Emmanuel Macron
standing US policies. ‘‘America’s policy of principled realism means we will not be held hostage to old dogmas, discredited ideologies, and socalled experts who have been proven wrong over the years, time and time again,’’ he said.
Citing the dangers of illegal immigration, he argued that each country should set its own policies in accordance with its national interest.
The UN has estimated about 65 million people, mostly from impoverished nations, have been dislocated due to war, persecution, environmental disasters and economic needs.
‘‘Migration should not be governed by an international body unaccountable to our own citizens,’’ Trump said, explaining his rejection of a newly negotiated global compact on migration. ‘‘Ultimately, the only long-term solution to the migration crisis is to help people build more hopeful futures in their home countries. Make their countries great again.’’
He also renewed his pledge to trim and reprioritise America’s foreign aid budget, complaining that helping poverty-stricken countries offered little benefit to US interests.
‘‘The United States is the world’s largest giver in the world, by far, of foreign aid. But few give anything to us.’’
He said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would take a ‘‘hard look’’ at the State Department budget and ensure that countries receiving aid or military protection ‘‘also have our interests at heart’’.
‘‘Moving forward, we’re only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends.’’
Nicholas Burns, a former senior diplomat in Republican and Democratic administrations, said afterwards: ‘‘The tone of this speech won’t be effective outside Trump’s base at home – boastful, bitter and resentful of countries that ‘take advantage of us’.
‘‘He is not leading the world, but campaigning against it.’’– AP, Los Angeles Times