Tillerson: State Department spending levels 'unsustainable'

Patrice Gainsbourg

Março 19, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday defended the President Trump's proposal to cut funding to the State Department.

In a letter to the staff of the department, Tillerson said that the move indicates a change of priorities for the agency, reflecting a "restatement" of US needs.

The US was elected to the 47-member council, the UN's main body for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide, for a three-year term ending in 2019.

The BBC notes that although both chambers of Congress are dominated by the Republicans, the draft budget - concerning only the $1-billion part of the annual budget that is distributed among government agencies and departments - may face some strong opposition in some of its parts.

Ben Affleck Reveals He's 'Completed Treatment For Alcohol Addiction'
In Affleck's statement about his rehab stint, he called Garner his "co-parent", and said he's lucky to have her love. ACTOR AND DIRECTOR Ben Affleck has spoken out about recently completing treatment for alcohol addiction.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner told journalists this week that he would not get into details about the letter, first obtained by Foreign Policy.

Former President George W Bush refused to join the council in 2006 due to its treatment of Israel, but the decision was reversed by President Barack Obama in 2009, who said it would be better to have a seat at the table.

President Donald Trump has long expressed his view that the USA paid too much towards the United Nations, which amounts to about $10 billion now.

In January he was reportedly preparing to sign an executive order which would reduce United States funding of the UN by 40 per cent, as well as repeal certain multilateral treaties and scrap the landmark Paris climate change agreement. "Additionally, the budget is an acknowledgment that development needs are a global challenge to be met not just by contributions from the United States, but through greater partnership with and contributions from our allies and others".