The US Mission to the United Nations informed Guterres over the weekend that numerous provisions in the New York Declaration that launched the process for a compact "are inconsistent with US immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration's immigration principles."
In the declaration, all 193 UN member states including the US under President Barack Obama said no one country can manage international migration on its own. They agreed to launch a process leading to the adoption of a global compact in 2018.
"The decision should not disrupt what we see as a clear, unanimous outcome of the New York Declaration for such a global compact," he said, stressing that it will not be legally binding but will be "grounded in international cooperation and respect of national interests."
The US announcement came ahead of yesterday's opening of a stock-taking meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the compact. It follows five regional meetings, hearings and civil society and national consultations around the world.
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He said the Canadian jurist told delegates that "the success of the global compact will rest on" getting the maximum number of countries to buy in politically and morally, and "a willingness to enhance cooperation at the regional and international levels."
Brenden Varma, spokesman for General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak, stressed that migration is a global phenomenon that demands a global response.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that "no country has done more than the United States and our generosity will continue."
"But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone," she said. "The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with US sovereignty.
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