UK minister warns of impact of Trump's planned UN cuts

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – The planned cuts to UN funding by U.S. President Donald Trump would have a "marked effect" on health and aid programs for women refugees and the poorest people of the world, according to a British Cabinet minister.

Alistair Burt, Britain's minister for international development and the Middle East, told the Huffington Post in a story posted Wednesday that any loss of cash would have a major impact on UN programs.

The U.S. administration said it would reduce its funding of the UN by $285 million for the coming fiscal year, its envoy to the UN announced on Sunday.

The announcement came shortly after UN member nations voted overwhelmingly to reject Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel -- a move that drew condemnation and protests from across the Arab and Muslim world.

The full 193-member UN General Assembly met last week for a rare emergency special session regarding Trump's decision.

Burt said he was aware the relationship between the UN and the U.S. "has been a fraught one".

"It’s true that any loss of funding, particularly in health or education, has a marked effect," he said.

"We are very conscious of some concerns in the American administration about health funding.

"Concerns which we don't share and where we are very determined to make sure there is no adverse effect if funding is cut by the United States on some of the programs, particularly to women and those in need as a result."

"But we hope the United States can resolve their issues with the UN, because the U.S. presence is of huge importance to us all," he added.

-Threats over UN vote

Ahead of last week's UN vote, Trump threatened that he would withhold billions of dollars in aid to countries that voted in favor of the resolution rejecting the U.S. move.

"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we're watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care," said Trump.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, had also threatened UN members over the vote, saying there would be consequences and she would be "taking names" of countries who voted in favor of the resolution.

Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that longstanding understanding. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.