Republicans in the US have long been skeptical of or outright hostile to the United Nations. In January 2017, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) re-introduced the American Sovereignty Restoration Act to withdraw the United States from the United Nations and other multilateral bodies, cease all payments to the UN, and “repeal” all agreements with the UN. Rep. Rogers re-introduced it again in January of 2019. The bill has yet to make it out of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but the sentiment behind the bills has been shared by other prominent Republicans as well as Republican voters. In 2019, Pew found that only 36% of Republicans had a positive view of the UN, compared to 77% of Democrats.
There are a few common arguments against the United Nations. The first, as Rep. Rogers’ bill implies, is that the United Nations poses a grave threat to US sovereignty. Republicans, particularly Evangelical Christians, fear the United Nations will impose ‘globalist, liberal’ values on unwilling God-fearing Americans and increase what they believe to be widespread persecution of Christians in the US. The New York Times reported on a draft Executive Order in January of 2017 called “Moratorium on New Multilateral Treaties” that called for a review of all current and pending treaties. Two treaties were called out in an explanatory statement, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Of course, the United States is the only UN-member nation not to be a party to the Rights of the Child, and is one of the few nations, along with Iran, Somalia, and Sudan, not to ratify CEDAW.
The arguments against these treaties are that they unfairly infringe on US domestic policy. Parental rights groups argue he Convention on the Rights of the Child infringes on the rights of parents. They believe children “belong” to parents and this treaty will lead to parents being forced to send their children to public school overruling parents’ desires in religious and sex education. There is also fear that if rights are recognized, welfare must be expanded to provide for those things, which Republicans oppose. Parental rights leader Michael Farris, general counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and founder of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College, has put forward an amendment to the Constitution to enshrine these rights, which has been supported by Republican Senators. The explanatory statement in the draft order also specifically calls out that the treaty could be used to ban spanking, a common practice in conservative homes. The ACLU has argued that these concerns are overwrought. The US had a large role in devising the treaty and it incorporates a great deal of US law. It is true that some US laws would need to be adjusted, however. The US is also the only country in the world to sentence children to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Similar arguments are made against ratifying CEDAW. The administration claims it would “prohibit the celebration of Mother’s Day,” for instance. Of course, many other nations that have ratified the treaty, like the UK, celebrate Mother’s Day, so it is unclear how they drew that conclusion. The same groups who have successfully halted the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment argue that the US Constitution protects women so CEDAW is not needed. They argue that because CEDAW promotes reproductive rights, access to contraception, and gender equality in all spheres of society, it will lead to discrimination or even legal consequences against those who believe in “traditional family values.”
The other primary complaint is that the UN has an anti-Israel bias. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has called the UN a “forum for anti-Semitism” and introduced legislation to “combat systemic bias and targeting” against Israel. The United States, particularly the Republican party, has sought to defend Israel in the UN by vetoing resolutions challenging Israel on Palestinian rights and settlements in disputed territories. Republican’s support for Israel is largely based on an Evangelical Christian belief that the nation of Israel is important for fulfilling end-times prophecy. Citing God’s promise to Abraham and the prophecy of Balaam, they argue that if the United States turns its back on Israel, God no longer bless the US and it will ultimately be destroyed.
Despite the rhetoric of Republican leaders, polling has shown high levels support among Americans for the United Nations and ratification of CEDAW and Rights of the Child. No doubt if Vice President Joe Biden should win the election, he will seek to rebuild the US’ reputation and leadership at the UN. Should President Trump win re-election, however, speculation has already begun that he would withdraw the US from NATO and the United Nations. Evangelicals and Republicans might cheer, but the world will be less equipped to meet global challenges without US funding and leadership.
Stephanie,
This is a very interesting blog post. I particularly liked the way you tied in the religious angle to explain the position that many Republicans have taken on agreements like CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As you know, some of this opposition goes all the way back to the founding of the UN in 1949, but some of it is much more recent. In my opinion, it is a matter of great embarrassment that the US remains outside a whole series of UN agreements–not only the ones mentioned in your post but also agreements like the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Landmine treaty, and the International Criminal Court.
Hopefully, as you suggested, a Biden administration will take action to reverse many of the ill-considered decisions made during the last four years. –Professor Wallerstein