SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. (Photo: U.S. Mission Photo/Eric Bridiers/via flickr/cc)
On Global Effort to Protect Migrants and Refugees, US Says, "We're Out!"
United Nations declaration committing to rights "is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty," says Ambassador Nikki Haley
Dec 04, 2017
In another testament of the Trump administration's anti-immigration stance, the United States announced that it is ditching negotiations towards a United Nations pact aimed at protecting the rights of refugees and migrants.
All 193 U.N. member states, including the U.S., adopted the New York Declaration in September of 2016, which included the goals of adopting a global compact on refugees and another on migration. Among the commitments laid out were protecting the human rights of all refugees and migrants and working towards ending the practice of detaining children for the purpose of determining migration status.
In a statement released Saturday announcing the decision, the United States Mission to the U.N. said the declaration "contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration's immigration principles." Because of this, the U.S. was walking away from participation towards the Global Compact on Migration, the statement said.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the declaration "is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty"--an argument echoed in a statement released Sunday by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The decision is "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems."In response to the development, Bill Frelick, director of Human Rights Watch's refugee program, told the New York Times, "Simplistic solutions like walls will not solve the complex problem of unsafe, irregular, disorderly migration, demonstrating a callous disregard for the lives of migrants and jaw-dropping irresponsibility toward the community of nations."
The decision was also met with outrage by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which said it's "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems, and raises the specter of a possible U.S. withdrawal from the Global Compact on Refugees process."
Speaking to the U.N. a day after the declaration was adopted, then-president Barack Obama, whose administration also detained child immigrants, called the refugee crisis "a test of our common humanity--whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls," later adding, "I believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In another testament of the Trump administration's anti-immigration stance, the United States announced that it is ditching negotiations towards a United Nations pact aimed at protecting the rights of refugees and migrants.
All 193 U.N. member states, including the U.S., adopted the New York Declaration in September of 2016, which included the goals of adopting a global compact on refugees and another on migration. Among the commitments laid out were protecting the human rights of all refugees and migrants and working towards ending the practice of detaining children for the purpose of determining migration status.
In a statement released Saturday announcing the decision, the United States Mission to the U.N. said the declaration "contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration's immigration principles." Because of this, the U.S. was walking away from participation towards the Global Compact on Migration, the statement said.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the declaration "is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty"--an argument echoed in a statement released Sunday by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The decision is "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems."In response to the development, Bill Frelick, director of Human Rights Watch's refugee program, told the New York Times, "Simplistic solutions like walls will not solve the complex problem of unsafe, irregular, disorderly migration, demonstrating a callous disregard for the lives of migrants and jaw-dropping irresponsibility toward the community of nations."
The decision was also met with outrage by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which said it's "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems, and raises the specter of a possible U.S. withdrawal from the Global Compact on Refugees process."
Speaking to the U.N. a day after the declaration was adopted, then-president Barack Obama, whose administration also detained child immigrants, called the refugee crisis "a test of our common humanity--whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls," later adding, "I believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment."
In another testament of the Trump administration's anti-immigration stance, the United States announced that it is ditching negotiations towards a United Nations pact aimed at protecting the rights of refugees and migrants.
All 193 U.N. member states, including the U.S., adopted the New York Declaration in September of 2016, which included the goals of adopting a global compact on refugees and another on migration. Among the commitments laid out were protecting the human rights of all refugees and migrants and working towards ending the practice of detaining children for the purpose of determining migration status.
In a statement released Saturday announcing the decision, the United States Mission to the U.N. said the declaration "contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration's immigration principles." Because of this, the U.S. was walking away from participation towards the Global Compact on Migration, the statement said.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the declaration "is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty"--an argument echoed in a statement released Sunday by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The decision is "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems."In response to the development, Bill Frelick, director of Human Rights Watch's refugee program, told the New York Times, "Simplistic solutions like walls will not solve the complex problem of unsafe, irregular, disorderly migration, demonstrating a callous disregard for the lives of migrants and jaw-dropping irresponsibility toward the community of nations."
The decision was also met with outrage by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which said it's "another example of the Trump administration's contempt for collective solutions to pressing international problems, and raises the specter of a possible U.S. withdrawal from the Global Compact on Refugees process."
Speaking to the U.N. a day after the declaration was adopted, then-president Barack Obama, whose administration also detained child immigrants, called the refugee crisis "a test of our common humanity--whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls," later adding, "I believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.