US Chairs UN Security Council this Month

For September 2018, the U.S. — represented by Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley — assumes the chair of the UN Security Council.  Planned activities to be spearheaded by the U.S. include a meeting on Iran, chaired by President Trump, and the launch of a high-level initiative against global narcotics at which President Trump will speak. 

Meanwhile, a close Trump ally, President Morales of Guatemala, has barred the entry of a UN official heading an anti-corruption investigation into Morales’ administration.  The Guatemalan high court has given Morales until Friday to justify the ban.  

The U.S. withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council earlier this summer, and President Trump has had harsh words for the UN in the past, but Ambassador Haley has apparently “shown Trump how the world body serves his purposes.”  Unfortunately, those purposes do not include protecting human rights.

Last week, stepping down from his post as the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein offered a sobering assessment of the situation.  While a growing number of world leaders are eager to inflate their images by harming migrants and other vulnerable members of society, “mediocre” politicians stand back and fail to offer any alternatives.  Zeid’s prescription?  Grassroots human rights leaders offer the best hope for the future.  Mobilization is the key.