Trump to Meet World Leaders on UN Structural Reforms

On September 18, U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with world leaders to discuss reforms to the structure of the United Nations. Reuters has reported that it possesses a copy of the U.S. ten-point proposal for UN reform, which is set to be presented to countries worldwide for signature collection. Trump has heavily criticized the UN's structure and the U.S. share of its budget during his election campaigns and after taking office. He has described the UN as 'a club for gathering, talking, and having fun.' The United States is the largest financial contributor to the UN, covering 22% of the organization's biennial budget of $5.4 billion. The U.S. also bears 28.5% of the UN's $7.3 billion budget for peacekeeping missions. The share of each country is agreed upon by the 193 member states in the UN General Assembly. According to diplomats, on September 18, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President Trump, and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley will speak at a meeting organized by the U.S. for world leaders. On September 19, Trump and Guterres will address the General Assembly. A draft statement prepared by the U.S. states: 'We support the Secretary-General in making tangible changes to the UN system to improve the organization's functions regarding humanitarian actions, development expansion, and peacekeeping.' The proposal also commits countries to reduce redundancy, unnecessary work, and overlapping duties within the UN and its subsidiary bodies. Currently, the U.S. is reviewing all UN peacekeeping missions to propose cost reductions to the Security Council. Nikki Haley has previously criticized wasteful spending at the UN and emphasized the need for reform.