{"id":10417,"date":"2026-09-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=10417"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T06:09:52","slug":"will-the-future-of-the-un-be-dictated-by-a-hostile-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/sdgs-2\/will-the-future-of-the-un-be-dictated-by-a-hostile-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Future of the UN be Dictated by a Hostile US?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Thalif Deen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNITED NATIONS (IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– As the UN commemorates its 81st anniversary, one lingering question remains: what is the future of the world body.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will a hostile US downsize its operations at the United Nations, cut down its funding, continue defaulting in its payments \u2014 and perhaps eventually, withdraw from the world body?\uff5cJAPANESE<\/a>\uff5c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the US has pulled out of three UN agencies and one UN-affiliated body \u2014 including the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)\u2014and the Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the UN far behind.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of a US visa denial to a Palestinian delegation to the General Assembly sessions next month, triggered several questions at a press briefing last week: \u201cDon\u2019t you think it\u2019s a good idea to relocate the UN headquarters somewhere else in the world? Can the Secretary General initiate such a process? If there is such a process, how will it work? And will the United States take the United Nations hostage?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his response, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters: \u201cThis is an issue for Member States. If I\u2019m not mistaken, the seat of the UN is listed in the charter. This city and the United Nations have had a joint history for the last 81 years, and I think all in all it\u2019s been a good history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question: \u201cThe U.S. is saying that they will deny the Palestinian delegation visas to come to the General Assembly. Are you aware of this? And is the UN doing anything about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019ve seen those reports. It is very important for us that the United States honor its responsibilities under the host treaty agreement. We will continue to push for that. But at this point, we\u2019ve only seen the press reports\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to one report, the US has withdrawn from 31 UN-related entities and bodies under a presidential memorandum signed on January 7, 2026, adding to prior departures from major agencies like the World Health Organization and UNESCO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January 2026 directive on withdrawals impacts largely targeting initiatives related to climate, development, and social policy. Key departures include the UNFCCC and IPCC (climate), UN Women and UNFPA (social\/health), UNCTAD (trade), and various regional commissions and offices, including UN-Habitat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Program Director for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the United Nations, told Inter Press Service (IPS) the makeup of the Security Council, having the headquarters of the United Nations located in the United States, is an outdated relic of World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most of the UN\u2019s history, he pointed out, the United States has vetoed far more otherwise-unanimous UNSC resolutions than any other country. And, Washington has repeatedly reneged on its financial obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, said Dr Zunes, the U.S. has repeatedly attacked UN institutions, including its judicial bodies, humanitarian organizations, and investigative commissions, particularly in regard to the enforcement of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. wars on Iraq and Iran and the U.S. recognition of Israeli and Moroccan annexations of territories seized by military force have underscored a brazen disregard for the foundational principles of the UN Charter\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the refusal to allow a delegation of a permanent observer member state (Palestine) is a direct violation of the U.S.-UN agreement making New York the world body\u2019s headquarters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, there are certainly major logistical, financial, and institutional reasons why it would not make sense for the United Nations to remove its headquarters from New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe very fact that it is even being discussed, however, is indicative that the United States is increasingly becoming an international pariah and an ironic choice as the host nation,\u201d declared Dr Zunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr James E. Jennings, President, Conscience International, told IPS It is likely that the US will continue to withdraw funding from the UN, a process that has already begun by defunding certain agencies with the aim of bringing it further under the control of Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failing that, he said, Trump may attempt to establish an alternative body dominated by the US, forcing nations to choose allies and sidelining the UN. \u201cUnder today\u2019s conditions, any breakdown of the UN\u2019s rules-based order would be a sure trigger for global conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Can the US restructure the UN to do its bidding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Continued efforts by the US government to restructure the UN and its programs are more likely than an attempt to move the UN HQ from New York. The Security Council is useful to Washington because it can serve as a whipping post for global grievances, as notably during the Cold War in opposing the long series of \u201cnyet\u201d from the East Bloc, but also more recently by taking its hands off when Washington wanted to go to war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many observers believe President Trump is acting belligerently to merely exercise influence over the UN, but that would be a woeful misjudgment of the man and his methods. In fact, he seeks to completely dominate the world body, not simply make changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who has noticed his boast earlier this year that he should be recognized as the most powerful person who has ever lived, should take him at his word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His ego, like the bottomless pit of Hell in the Biblical Book of Revelation, is a veritable Black Hole, knowing no limit to its depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How realistic his goal may be is another matter. But since money moves most things, and US largess has been one key to the UN\u2019s successful operations over many decades, all bets are off until Congress gains the courage to undo his bidding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtably, the UN\u2019s key structures are being tested. The long-term consequences of great power manipulation of the UN are troubling, as evidenced by Exhibit One: the virtual erasure of Palestinian national rights over three quarters of a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Truman Administration\u2019s influence on weak countries to vote for the 29 November 1947 Partition of Palestine forced the creation of Israel against the wishes of the native Arab population and violated the spirit of the UN Charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without fundamental changes in the Charter, the General Assembly\u2019s influence cannot replace the Security Council\u2019s dominance of global policy. A complete US withdrawal from the UN, or the creation of an alternative body dominated by Washington, would condemn the current organization to go the way of the late lamented League of Nations., declared Dr Jennings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to one report, the United Nations is decentralizing operations from New York under the UN@80 reform initiative, relocating several global offices and hundreds of positions to regional hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relocated Global Offices and Agencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n