for Leading U.N. Agencies With Questionable Leadership A meeting of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s governing Council. The 49-member body includes U.S.-designated terror-sponsor Sudan as well as 11 other countries ranked as “not free” by Freedom House. (Photo: FAO) (CNSNews.com) – Several United Nations agencies that are among the biggest recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars have given leadership positions to U.S.-designated state sponsors of terrorism and countries with poor records on human rights and religious freedoms. That funding could be in jeopardy if a draft presidential executive order becomes a reality. The draft order would create an accountability committee to recommend where U.S. funding to bodies across the global U.N. system could be reduced or reallocated, in line with U.S. policy interests. “The purpose of the accompanying executive order is to ensure better alignment between United States national interests and U.S. monetary support to the United Nations and other international organizations,” it states. Among specific targets identified in the draft order, which was first reported on by the New York Times last month, are any U.N. agencies that are deemed to be “controlled or substantially influenced by” state-sponsors of terrorism or systematic human rights abusers. A recent State Department report to Congress shows that the U.S. in fiscal year 2016 contributed $10.48 billion to international organizations. Some $1.3 billion of that went to non-U.N. international bodies such as NATO and the African Union, and $659,487,647 went to the regular U.N. operating budget in FY 2016. Of the U.N. agencies that benefitted from the remaining more than $8 billion, some of the bigger recipients included: --U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – $1,508,067,996 --World Food Program (WFP) – $1,393,973,328 --U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – $514,219,804 --World Health Organization (WHO) – $341,275,815 --Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – $161,417,915 The U.S. is by far the largest single contributor to these agencies, accounting for 22 percent or more of their annual budgets. The Trump administration’s draft executive order, while clearly still a work in progress, suggests that funding should not just be reduced, but be cut altogether in cases where agencies have given positions of influence to countries that are designated state-sponsors of terrorism (currently there are just three – Iran, Sudan and Syria), or are widely criticized for human rights abuses. All of the above agencies have over recent years seen such regimes elected onto their governing bodies. Iran and Sudan are both members of UNHCR’s 98-member Executive Committee. The two terror-sponsors are also both elected members of the WFP’s 36-member Executive Board. In addition, the WFP board includes seven other countries – Afghanistan, China, Congo, Egypt, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia – that like Iran and Sudan are ranked as “not free” by Freedom House. The Washington-based rights watchdog which grades countries annually based on their records on political rights and civil liberties. The FAO’s 49-member governing Council currently includes “not free” Afghanistan, Algeria, Cameroon, China, Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar, Russia and Saudi Arabia – as well as Sudan, both “not free” and a U.S.-designated terror-sponsor. Almost one-third of WHO’s 34-member Executive Board are “not free” – Algeria, Burundi, China, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Libya, Russia and Vietnam. UNICEF’s 36 Executive Board members include terror-sponsor Iran, which has been a member for eight of the last ten years. UNICEF’s decision-making board also includes ten other “not free” countries – Angola, Belarus, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Russia and Saudi Arabia. One hundred and ninety-three countries are members of the United Nations. The U.S., through its taxpayers, accounts for more than 176 of those member-states combined in contributing to the regular U.N. budget, and for more than 185 other U.N. member-states combined for the peacekeeping budget, according to Heritage Foundation fellow Brett Schaefer. U.S. May Withhold Funding for Leading U.N. Agencies With Questionable Leadership
I appreciate that the USA contributes a significant amount of financial aid to the UN, but what will America do with much of its surplus heavily subsidized food produce, if not pledge it as UN food aid? Dump it on international markets? Funding the UN is a significant source of leverage within the UN, that the USA discards at its own peril: But foreign policy dilettante, Donald, may not understand that kind of subtlety.
Screw the UN Chell. It is not your tax money funding the bulk of it only to have it put out policies insulting your country.
You really believe this? Point I think you IGNORED is the idea of sayin nope you will not use our funds for this... if you try will will NOT give those funds to you is part of what's being said... the other part is mess with us and play games... and you will leave... not hard to understand really... well for most people I guess it isn't hard to understand...
If we give you money for food and you buy musical instruments, you obviously didn't need food. So, no more money for food.
All those numbers have exactly one thing in common. All that money was 100% wasted, most of it probably never went where it was supposed to go and just ended up lining some foreign politicians pocket. That money should have been spent here, fixing American problems.
Had a little experience in the aid business in the 1960's, most of it went to the "universities", they took half of my grant for "overhead and in kind expenses" and I didn't even get an office on campus. Then I had to buy "American made" and ship it to south asia, and by the time I was finished I had about 15 % effective use of the grant, I was paid nothing, a grad student you know, but auditors etc made big bucks. Nothing has changed.
Don't get me wrong. We need representation in that august body just so we can keep an eye on what they are thinking. Then again, maybe we don't. That operation leaks faster than a colander.
The UN is like a spoiled child that speaks ill of it's parents, refuses to do it's chores, and STILL wants an increase in it's allowance.
"U.S. in fiscal year 2016 contributed $10.48 billion to international organizations." WTF!!! And, they continue to raise my taxes? I looked our Foreign Aid bill was for 2016 but the figures don't seem to be out yet but here is 2014...read it and weep..."U.S. spent $35 billion on foreign economic aid last year." OMG! I think I am going to be sick...time to write my Senator and Congressman a nasty gram...again. This money and food should come home because we can use it here. Doesn't anybody in leadership understand we're broke?!?!? And, in debt?!?!? EDIT: If I had my way I would evict the UN, kick them out of New York. Let them go to Geneva or to hell as far as I am concerned.
Bandit, that's not the worst of it, DoD spends upwards of 12 million PER DAY to operate 4 war ships in the Gulf of Adian for anti Piracy mission ops. And then it cost 1.2 million to replenish at sea, PER SHIP if using a DDG! The U.S. Coast Guard takes up an additional 8 million PER DAY for it's ops in the A.O. The U.S.A.F is burning through roughly 13 million PER DAY for the same mission! And that's just U.N. ops. Add in the State side training of 12 N.A.T.O. member nations forces and the costs not funded by the U.S. Gov and you have a YUGE amount of OUR tax money going to support other nations. Food Costs alone PER DAY are something like 1/2 million per State!!! Currently we have "Visitors" totaling 4 divisions worth of personal, and for RED FLAG up in Nevada, costs will total close to 30 million for that little event! All these are things are just DoD's expenses as part of "participation" in U.N. and NATO ops! Many claim that out "rent" in host nations for military base operations should offset American expenses incurred during our involvement in ops as well as training we host State side, This is a smoke screen to cover the facts that with out a solid U.S. military presence in the European and Far East A.O. those member nations would have fallen a long time ago to our Communist friends expansion! I would say that the U.S. should pull it's self out of these two power states, and take the U.K, Canada, and Japan with us. Re Start the North American Defense Zone, and shore it up to include immigration enforcement!