PassBlue, which provides independent coverage of the United Nations, is reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump will convene a meeting September 18 where world leaders will endorse a political declaration on reform of the United Nations.
A number of governments have already been consulted (including Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Thailand United Kingdom and Uruguay). The draft declaration is structured as a non-binding 10-point plan that itemizes mostly administrative reforms and supports the reform agenda initiated by Secretary-General Guterres in peace and security, development and management.
The U.S. government raised concern at the UN earlier this year with an announced cut to its contribution to the UN Peacekeeping budget. The U.S. cuts meant that UN peace operations funding dropped from $7.9 to $7.3 billion annually.
The draft declaration initiated by the U.S. also calls for eliminating redundancy and overlap, strengthening oversight and accountability, and developing human resources to attract high-calibre personnel – goals the U.S. has espoused for many years.
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