World Rejects Trump’s Unilateralism

Rasa - On Tuesday, September 25, the international civil society rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for rejecting globalism and embracing patriotism at a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that was interrupted by derisive laughter from world leaders.

News ID: 440749

Date: 29 September 2018 - 14:46

RNA - In the course of the bombastic address, Trump highlighted the achievements of his presidency, lashed out at enemies – Iran foremost among them – and railed against multilateralism in its spiritual home, the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

In one of the more remarkable moments in the history of the annual UN summit, the chamber broke out in spontaneous laughter at Trump’s claim that “in less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”. Clearly taken aback, Trump said, “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.”

But he also didn’t expect that Washington’s traditional allies in Europe would also reject his one-man foreign policy and “nationalism”. His damaging actions and obnoxious is the reason why the world is in turmoil now. World leaders laughed at him and didn’t stand by idly in the face of his assault on globalism, multilateralism, human rights and international institutions.

What Trump and his one-man foreign policy has done to the world is not a joke and certainly the UN General Assembly is not a comedy club for a thunderous recitation of his “America First” policies or go-it-alone views that have strained US relationships with the world and destabilized the planet.

While addressing the assembly, for instance, French President Emmanuel Macron discredited Trump after the US president urged the world to isolate Iran, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism and sowing "chaos, death and destruction" in the Middle East. This is while the country is still in the 2015 nuclear deal despite Trump's withdrawal from it, and 12 reports by the International Atomic Energy Organization have substantiated that.

Macron, nevertheless, called for "dialogue and multilateralism" on Iran, shortly after Trump promised hard-hitting sanctions against Tehran. Just like his Chinese, Russia, British and German counterparts, Macron credited the historic nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.

Reality slapped Trump in the face again when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took aim at him in yet another defiant speech. In a direct reference to the United States and its Middle Eastern allies, Rouhani condemned the “recklessness of some states for international values,” and the fact that while most leaders use their time on the UN stage to list the international agreements they have made or helped to protect, Trump clearly delighted in telling the world how many such pieces of paper he had voided.

According to Fars News Agency, Trump may not fully understand why his second address at the General Assembly was met largely by silence from the “globalist” enemy and why world leaders laughed at him. As Rouhani made clear, they all care about facts, as “confronting multilateralism is not a sign of strength. Rather it is a symptom of the weakness of intellect - it betrays an inability in understanding a complex and interconnected world.”

By most accounts, the law of the survival of the fittest, protectionism and isolationism that Trump advocated at the UN will only lead to heightened tensions and conflicts across the globe. It is up to world leaders, therefore, to say no to Trump’s erosion of multilateralism.

World leaders have a duty to stand up for global peace and security. Under International Law and the UN Charter, they must safeguard multilateralism and collective action in international affairs, and reject Trump’s “doctrine of patriotism” and “economic terrorism.” They must reject the obsolete manifesto for ‘nativitism’ and ‘nationalism’ that Trump advocates in the world.

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