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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Mike Lee on Wednesday introduced a bill to cut American funding to the United Nations, following through on a series of recent threats to try to decouple the United States from the U.N.
Lee's bill, the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act, would repeal several earlier laws that bind the U.S. to the U.N., like the United Nations Participation Act of 1945. It would also end financial support to the U.N., prohibit U.S. involvement in peacekeeping operations, revoke diplomatic immunity for U.N. officials in the U.S. and would withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization and other U.N. organizations.
If the bill passes, future engagements with the U.N. would require approval from the U.S. Senate.
"No more blank checks for the United Nations. Americans' hard-earned dollars have been funneled into initiatives that fly in the face of our values — enabling tyrants, betraying allies and spreading bigotry," Lee said in a statement. "With the DEFUND Act, we're stepping away from this debacle. If we engage with the U.N. in the future, it will be on our terms, with the full backing of the Senate and an iron-clad escape clause."
Some conservatives have long butted heads with the United Nations, and threats to pull American support have surfaced before. Nearly 80% of people in the U.S. on the ideological left say they view the U.N. favorably, compared to only 34% of those on the right, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
The U.S. has historically been the biggest backer of the U.N., accounting for nearly one-fifth of the U.N.'s 2021 budget, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The majority of that aid goes to U.N. entities such as the World Food Program, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. Department of Peace Operations and UNICEF.
Lee announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at the U.N. after an amended resolution condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel failed to earn support from two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly.
The senator on Wednesday shared a video of U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights Volker Türk calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, adding: "Of course the antisemitic U.N. would say this to the country that just suffered a devastating attack from a bunch of war criminals."
"It's time to #DefundTheUN," Lee added.
Of course the antisemitic UN would say this to the country that just suffered a devastating attack from a bunch of war criminals.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 7, 2023
It's time to #DefundTheUN. https://t.co/xXviGBo8FT
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday invoked Article 99 of the U.N. Charter — which allows him to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security" — in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.
"We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system," Guterres wrote. "The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost."
In the past, Lee has been critical of calls for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, saying a pause in the fighting "won't work with Hamas," and that it would only give Hamas time to regroup.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said nearly 16,000 have been killed in the territory since the war began. About 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — were killed in the brutal Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.
Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"This year, the United Nations' corruption, and its despicable, brazen political agenda have been on full display," Roy stated. "The U.N. doesn't deserve one single dime of American taxpayer money or one bit of our support; we should defund it and leave immediately."
