NEW YORK CITY — A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres downplayed concerns regarding what President Donald Trump‘s return to power means for the multilateral organization.
When asked by the Washington Examiner whether Trump’s actions and threats related to the withdrawal of political and financial support from the U.N. have undermined the organization’s future, Guterres’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric quipped that the secretary-general would be more concerned if Trump did not address the body’s 80th general assembly on Tuesday.
“The secretary-general very much looks forward to his meeting with President Trump,” Dujarric said. “Yesterday, he received the credentials of Mike Waltz, the new permanent representative. He had a very good discussion, very solid and a deep discussion on U.N.-U.S. relations. And we look forward to having President Trump, to hosting him, and to welcoming him back to the United Nations.”
When pressed, Dujarric added, “Frankly, there would be more concern if he wasn’t here.”
During his first administration, Trump was critical of the U.N., preferring bilateral relationships with other countries rather than multilateralism.
Trump’s relationship with the U.N. has already come under pressure during his second administration after the State Department denied visas to Palestinian officials to attend this year’s U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week because of national security concerns, which went against the United States’s responsibilities as a host of the U.N.
“The secretary-general has been vocal in expressing his concern at the wrong direction in which, globally, issues having to do with human rights, freedom of the press, have been going,” Dujarric said. “He spoke about that on the anniversary of the charter a few weeks ago, saying that the U.N. Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are not an a la carte menu, and they need to be taken as a whole by every member state who is signed up to them.”
Dujarric reiterated that Guterres has conveyed his displeasure with Trump’s visa decision, describing it as “deeply regrettable.”
“Moreover, we’ve taken it up directly with the host country, but the situation is what it is,” he said.
Last Friday, the U.N. General Assembly voted to permit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the annual summit of world leaders via video after he was denied a visa. Abbas is anticipated to first speak at a U.N. conference on Monday about a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
TRUMP RETURNS TO UN IN STRONGER POSITION BUT WITH GREATER CHALLENGES
Trump is scheduled to arrive in New York City on Monday night. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday afternoon that Trump will “deliver a major speech touting the renewal of American strength around the world [and] his historic accomplishments in just eight months, including the ending of seven global wars and conflicts.”
“The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said. “The president will also be hosting bilateral meetings with the U.N.’s secretary general. The president will also, later in the day, hold a multilateral meeting with Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. After these important meetings, the president will attend a reception tomorrow night with more than 100 world leaders before returning to Washington, D.C.”