Anxiety Grips UN as Trump Returns

With just days to go before Donald Trump again enters the White House, anxiety is rising across UN agencies fearful he could wreak even more havoc than last time.

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Geneva –

During his first term in office, Washington slashed its contributions to United Nations operations and agencies, stormed out of the UN Human Rights Council, exited the Paris climate accord and the education agency Unesco and began withdrawing from the World Health Organisation.

But while Trump's first administration did not get to the harshest measures until later in the term, experts warn things could move faster this time.

“I don't think Trump is going to hang about so long this time,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said.

“He's likely to walk away from those UN mechanisms and arrangements that he boycotted before without much ceremony.”