During U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres was honored with not one, but two White House visits.
This time, he can’t even get the Trump on the phone, Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, told Devex during a recent Pro Briefing on the future of the United Nations — which also featured Natalie Samarasinghe, the former CEO of the United Nations Association-UK.
The change reflects the rapidly diminishing standing of the U.N. in the eyes of a White House that sees little value in the multilateral agency’s plans for ending initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, to eradicate world poverty and keep the peace in conflict zones. The neglect is palpable.