Foreign Policy: At the U.N., America Turns Back the Clock on Women’s Rights
“The Trump administration is lining up with less liberal nations such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia at a major United Nations conference on women this month to roll back international consensus on climate change and migration, while seeking to prevent the expansion of rights for girls, women, and LGBT people. The U.S. strategy — detailed in a confidential 96-page draft text under negotiations by delegates to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) obtained by Foreign Policy — underscores the degree to which President Donald Trump’s administration is moving further away from traditional democratic allies on social and cultural matters. Instead, Washington is increasingly aligning itself with Persian Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq; Malaysia; and some conservative African nations on a range of issues including questions surrounding protections for LGBT individuals and women’s health issues. … A U.S. official declined to respond to questions about its negotiating position but insisted that the Trump administration ‘is against discrimination of any kind’ and is ‘unwavering in its support for women’s empowerment.’ ‘As the world’s largest bilateral donor to global health programs,’ the official added, ‘the United States remains committed to helping women and children thrive, particularly in countries where the need is greatest’…” (Lynch/Gramer, 3/14).