U.S. President Donald Trump criticised the UN for bloated bureaucracy and mismanagement on his first visit on Monday to UN headquarters, calling for “truly bold reforms” so it could be a greater force for world peace.
Ahead of his maiden speech to the annual UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Trump hosted a short event to boost support for changes to the UN.
“In recent years the United Nations has not reached its full potential because of bureaucracy and mismanagement,” he said.
‘Protect whistleblowers’
“The United Nations must hold every level of management accountable, protect whistleblowers and focus on results rather than on process,” he said.
“I am confident that if we work together and champion truly bold reforms the United Nations will emerge as a stronger, more effective, more just and greater force for peace and harmony in the world,” Mr. Trump said in his first remarks at the UN in New York since his inauguration as President in January.
More than 120 countries were invited to attend Monday’s reform meeting after signing on to a U.S.-drafted 10-point political declaration backing efforts by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to initiate effective, meaningful reform”.
Mr. Trump, who complained during his 2016 election campaign about the U.S. paying a disproportionate amount of money to the UN, made the point again on Monday.
Also, the Human Rights Watch called for targeted sanctions and an arms embargo against the Myanmar military in response to an offensive that has sent 410,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.
HRW calls for sanctions
The HRW said Myanmar security forces were disregarding condemnation by world leaders over the violence and the exodus of refugees, and the time had come to impose tougher measures that Myanmar’s generals could not ignore.
The call came as the UN General Assembly prepared to convene in New York, with the crisis in Myanmar high on the agenda.
It also came on the eve of a highly-anticipated national address on Tuesday by Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her first on the crisis in Rakhine State.
About a million Rohingya lived in Rakhine State until the recent violence.
