The Guardian: Trump Pulls US Out of UN Global Compact on Migration

Citing its commitment to US political sovereignty and strict immigration policies, the Trump administration has pulled the country of the United Nations’ global compact on migration. The announcement came within hours of the opening of a UN global conference on migration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. According to Patrick Wintour of the Guardian, “The UN had always insisted that the compact was never intended to be legally binding on any country, but instead was an attempt to create a shared understanding that migration flows are likely to increase, and need to be regularised by recognising the reality of state interdependence.” In 2016, 193 members of the UN General Assembly, including the United States under Barack Obama, voted unanimously to adopt a non-binding political edict that pledged “to uphold the rights of refugees, help them resettle and ensure they had access to education and jobs.” Trump’s decision to withdraw from this symbolic compact comes in the wake of the US exit out of the UN climate change treaty and UNESCO, for the latter claiming anti-Israel bias among leaders. Such decisions ultimately sets US-UN relations back decades. –YaleGlobal