The late New York U.S. Senator and onetime American ambassador to the United Nations wrote a book about his U.N. experience called “A Dangerous Place.” Some of us wonder if the U.N. is not only a dangerous place but an insane asylum on New York’s East river. Earlier this week, the Heritage Foundation reported on a State Department annual report about voting practices of member countries in the United Nations General Assembly. State found that only twice since 1983 have member countries voting coincidence with the United States exceeding 50 percent only twice. Those years were 1995 and 2011. The State Department found the vast majority of American foreign aid recipients routinely oppose U.S. diplomatic initiatives and vote against the U.S. In 2012, for example, the State Department report said that most recipients of foreign aid voted against the United States. Among those countries were India, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Mozambique, Sudan and Russia. Voting with America a good part of the time that year were Israel, Peru, Georgia, Ukraine, Colombia. Most United Nations resolutions are adopted by consensus without a recorded vote or a dissent. During 2012, according to State, 180 out of 269 resolutions were adopted by consensus. Heritage said that every United Nations voting report between 1999 and 2009 listed U.S. foreign assistance disbursements to each nation along its voting record with the United States. Heritage also pointed out that the Obama administration ended this practice and since 2010 has failed to include foreign assistance disbursements in its reports. This proves that Congress should instruct the State Department to better scrutinize countries U.N. voting practices when they decide what countries should receive our foreign aid. The better policy is for the United States to get out of the United Nations and for the United Nations to get out of the United States.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 08:24:45 +0000