By Matthew Russell Lee, Periscope here
UNITED NATIONS, December 3 – After the United States pulled out of UNESCO and the Paris Accord on climate change, now it is out of the UN "Global Compact on Migration." This with the UN emboiled in corruption scandals of bribery (US prosecution here),hypocrisy and censorship. The US on December 2 pulled out of the UN Global Compact on Migration. On December 3, with Antonio Guterres presumably in New York and Amina J. Mohammed in Egypt still silent, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued this: "The United States has decided to end participation in the UN process to develop a Global Compact on Migration (GCM). Negotiations on the GCM will be based on the New York Declaration, a document adopted by the UN in 2016 that commits to “strengthening global governance” and contains a number of policy goals that are inconsistent with U.S. law and policy. While we will continue to engage on a number of fronts at the United Nations, in this case, we simply cannot in good faith support a process that could undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders. The United States supports international cooperation on migration issues, but it is the primary responsibility of sovereign states to help ensure that migration is safe, orderly, and legal." Before there was this, from the US Mission to the UN: "Today, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations informed the UN Secretary-General that the United States is ending its participation in the Global Compact on Migration. U.S. participation in the Compact process began in 2016, following the Obama Administration’s decision to join the UN’s New York Declaration on migration. The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration’s immigration principles. As a result, President Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the Compact process that aims to reach international consensus at the UN in 2018. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, issued the following statement: 'America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe. No country has done more than the United States, and our generosity will continue. But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone. We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country. The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty.'" We'll await Louise Arbour - or DSG Amina J. Mohammed, hiding from allegations of endangered rosewood lawbreaking in Egypt. Watch this site. When UNESCO's Manos Antoninis took questions on October 26, Inner City Press asked him how the Paris-based agency is responding to the United States leaving it. He responded, diplomatically perhaps, with praise of some in the US, those who root out climate change denial from school curriculum. Inner City Press previously exclusively reported on an emergency conference call convened by the Department of Public Information, though Antonio Guterres' spokespeople have refused to confirm it, as they refuse even to say where Guterres is. But at UNESCO, the pull-out of the US gives the spotlight and leverage to the agency's second biggest funder, Japan. And Japan has effectively used it. Now it is reported that "new director-general, Audrey Azoulay of France, has expressed an openness to reform and consistently asserted that the organization should not exacerbate political tensions. In light of these developments, the Japanese government has decided to resume paying dues, which are normally paid in spring." When Azoulay purported to hold a Q&A session in front of the UN Security Council on November 30, Inner City Press went (Periscope here) but she only took questions, answering both in French; she even dodged a question about the U.S., much less Japan. She rushed away from the microphone, only to stand on the side greeting UN officials Stephane Dujarric and the reclusive Alison Smale and her factotum Darrin Farant, then do an interview in the hallway between the Security Council and the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Meanwhile Paris, the base of UNESCO and Ms. Azoulay, competes including in Francophone Africa with Japan's Osaka for the 2025 World Expo, Inner City Press coverage here. So is this a win for Japan, or a backing down? What is happening up in Canada, and on Secretary General Antonio Guterres upcoming trip to a relative obscure regional health conference in Japan, during Japan's outgoing month as President of the Council? We'll have more on this. Previously Japan withheld UNESCO dues to try to block the registration of documents about its actions in Nanjing, China. But "Documents on the Nanking Massacre” were, in fact, registered. (This is the issue in Canada, including today). This year, with the additional leverage, the fight was about documentation of so-called comfort women or sex slaves the Japanese military took in World War II. South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said last week,"Our government is working on the listing with the basic attitude that a lesson should be learned from the comfort women issue." But on November 1, UNESCO's International Advisory Committee declined to act, postponing the decision. Yoshihide Suga, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, called it the "proper action." South Korea's Foreign Minister under former Ban Ki-moon UN official Kang Kyung-wha expressed regret and said, "We will continue possible diplomatic efforts to make the records on comfort women objectively and fairly evaluated going forward." Good luck. In the pie in the sky world of the UN's Disarmament Committee, various resolutions on the "total elimination of nuclear weapons" were put to a vote on October 27. Japan's long-time resolution L35, "United action with renewed determination toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons" was put over from October 26 to October 27. (On the 26th in front of the UN Security Council, Inner City Press asked Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho if it would come up that afternoon; he told Inner City Press, "I think it is delayed a little." In fact, it was for a whole day. But before it came up, North Korea denounced it as a product of “Japan's sick and impure political purposes” and said that particular paragraphs “jeopardize our supreme interests.” Egypt, too, said it would abstain as the draft focused on the duties of non-nuclear states. When the resolution came up for a vote "as a whole," it passed with 144 voting Yes, four No and 27 abstentions. And the voting on other resolutions, including on the dumping of radioactive waste," continued. There would be a Halloween party later, in the Ex-Press Bar, for money. While North Korea's diplomats might not be there, one finds it hard to believe recent quotes about never seeing the North Koreans. They show up at many receptions, sometimes complimenting the quality of the food. We'll have more on this.
