Trump’s arrival shakes International Geneva

The impact of Donald Trump’s decisions is already felt in Geneva. As soon as he arrived at the White House, he slammed the door of the WHO and the Paris Agreement, undermining multilateralism. Washington, the main contributor of the United Nations, plays a key role in international Geneva, now suspended from the choices of the new American president.
“This is a big file,” said Donald Trump before signing a decree formalizing the withdrawal of the United States of the World Health Organization, a few hours after returning to the White House. Barely invested, the new American president struck hard, by signing a rain of decrees, including the withdrawal of the Paris climate agreement, as in his previous mandate.
“There is a desire for rupture which is quite obvious,” notes Gaspard Kühn, former correspondent in the United States for the RTS, on the set of Geopolitis.External link However, it is quite common that a certain number of decrees are signed when a new president arrives, he nuance. “This desire for caesura is normal. Where there is perhaps a difference is that Donald Trump really wants to show who the boss is, from the start, with the desire to tame the system, or even break it. ”
The WHO, of which 18% of funding comes from Washington, is already afraid of the repercussions of this withdrawal, which occurs in full negotiations on a world treaty to prevent the next pandemics.External link “We hope that the United States will reconsider its decision,” said Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson for the organization. “WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and safety of populations around the world, including that of Americans, attacking the deep causes of diseases, strengthening health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies. “
From the COVVI-19 pandemic, Donald Trump accuses the WHO of being influenced by China and criticizes the gap of American and Chinese financial contributions. He believes that health management must be a national responsibility, despite the growing risk of global pandemics; A risk in particular accentuated by the circulation of the avian flu virus in the United States.External link
A feeling of already seen
In Geneva, second United Nations headquarters, these announcements do not surprise. During his last mandate, Donald Trump had multiplied the assaults against multilateralism. In addition to withdrawing from the WHO and the Paris Agreement, he had slammed the door of the Human Rights Council and paralyzed the World Trade Organization by blocking the appointment of new judges within his body appeal, responsible for paying for commercial disputes between states. Institutions which he describes as “biased”, ineffective and contrary to American interests, and whose withdrawal would allow savings to the country.
“There is a desire to fall back from the base in the United States,” said Gaspard Kühn. “Since the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq, a fed-up has settled in the face of an international commitment deemed too expensive. And then there are easy targets, like the Paris Accords, because the environment is a subject that carries very little today in the United States. ”
First UN contributor
The United Nations, which already goes through a liquidity crisisExternal linknow fear that their main contributor reduces, or even cuts off. The United States finances almost a third of the UN global budget (28%), well ahead of China (5%) and Germany (12%).
In Geneva, many agencies depend strongly on these funds. This is particularly the case of the UN program on HIV/AIDS (44% of which are funded by Washington), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (40%), of the International Organization for Migration (40%), or the global food program (34%).
The United States finances almost a third of the United Nations Global Budget, all entities combined.
Geopolitis / RTS
Beyond the UN, independent international organizations are also concerned, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), of which almost a quarter of funding comes from the United States (24%).
The appointment of Elise Stefanik as an American ambassador to the UN also arouses fears. The Republican, who notably accuses the United Nations of anti -Semitism since their condemnation of the war in Gaza, recently pleaded for a “complete re -evaluation” of American funding. “I share the vision of President Trump of a UN reformed by a strong policy of America first ‘, peace by force, and a return to its founding mission of promoting peace and security in The world, ”she said during her hearing in the Senate. A vision that will not fail to fuel debates in Geneva, one of the great centers of multilateralism.
This article is the fruit of a collaboration between Swi Swissinfo.ch and Geopolitis RTS.