Elizabeth Morgan | Jamaica needs a principled position

Last week, the question was posed in this column: are countries in the Western Hemisphere to become more subjugated US satellites? Are all 34 countries to further cower in fear?

Attention has turned in the Jamaican media to the actions of the US Trump administration in foreign policy. Much attention has been given to the January 8 article in the Jamaica Observer newspaper by former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, titled ‘Things Fall Apart…’, in which he addresses the extent to which the US is revising the global order which has existed for 80 years.

The Gleaner reported on January 9 that at a January 7 church event, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, recognising the changing and uncertain times leading into uncharted waters, signalled that his job was to keep Jamaica safe and not invite trouble. His focus was on Jamaica’s problems.

Mr Golding, in interviews on radio, was very sympathetic to the prime minister’s point of view. Others in the media also shared the prime minister’s view. Some looked back to what happened to Jamaica during the 1970s, urging caution. It was also noted that currently many countries are seeming to toe the line, aiming not to upset President Donald Trump. So, we are to remain silent, cowering in fear.

UNDERMINING THE GLOBAL MULTILATERAL SYSTEM

The USA’s foreign policy position, however, being unveiled since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term on January 20, 2025 is not just about Venezuela. It is, indeed, about the future of the existing global order, though flawed, which has made it possible for small island developing states (SIDS) to become independent and to have a voice in international affairs through the United Nations (UN) system. The USA championed the establishment of this system following a brutal world war, the second in the first half of the 20th century fought by powers asserting dominance.

The USA was actively involved in the drafting of the UN Charter promoting global peace and security and the right of territories to self-determination. The USA was also an active participant in the drafting of the Human Rights Declaration. The UN now has 193 member states, which includes Jamaica and other CARICOM members.

President Trump has been systematically dismantling this system, which has been important to the existence and functioning of small states. While so far remaining a member of the UN, President Trump has withdrawn the USA from funding and participating in the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Climate Accord, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Near East. Recall that the USA has also withdrawn from the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Recently, the Trump administration announced that the US will be withdrawing from participation and funding in another 31 UN bodies, including regional bodies of the UN Economic and Social Council; the International Law Commission; the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Trade Centre, and the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries.

The USA has not yet withdrawn from the World Trade Organization, but by unilaterally embracing protectionism and introducing tariffs on all its trading partners, including those in CARICOM, it is endeavouring to undermine the rules-based international trading system.

While a country has the right to review and revise its membership of international organizations, it appears that the US is also seeking to undermine the UN and the multilateral system generally.

Recall that mitigating climate change and sustainable development are important issues for SIDS. Recall, too, that the USA has been a contributor to the problems facing the globe and is now appearing to opt out of its responsibility to assist in addressing them. Note that Jamaica seeks to address national problems through the multilateral system.

MIGHT MAKES RIGHT

President Trump is making it clear that he wants to return the world to the 19th and early 20th centuries when power politics reigned, when might made right. This was the era of imperialism and colonialism. This was a period when the rule of law was a secondary consideration. So, President Trump is dusting off the Monroe Doctrine, adding the Trump Corollary, and reintroducing gunboat diplomacy.

Trump’s stated objective is to dominate the Western Hemisphere using the US’s military might. First, it was Venezuela, and threats remain for Cuba, Canada, Colombia, Panama, and Nicaragua, and expanding by adding Greenland. At risk could be any country in the Western Hemisphere that the Trump administration thinks is not doing its bidding.

Jamaica and the other CARICOM countries came out of a system of imperialism, colonialism, and slavery, when territorial and human rights counted for little. The region is still reflecting on that period and claiming reparation payments for the abuses committed then.

It is documented that the USA was a pseudo-imperialist when its army, through gunboat diplomacy, was used in Central America and the Caribbean to secure its commercial interests. In the past, academics spoke to what US domination looked and felt like, and why there was a revolution in Cuba.

Do we now think that US dominance will look any different, or that compliance and silence will save us?

JAMAICA NEEDS A PRINCIPLED POSITION

So, this revised US foreign policy poses a danger to countries in the Western Hemisphere and the world. The Trump administration is communicating that it intends to disregard the rule of law and its institutions, that it wants to take us back to a very ugly and dangerous period in history. This does not serve our national interests. We should not opt to be a further US satellite state, with our policies and positions fully dictated by them.

The principle of the rule of law is important to SIDS. We cannot be silent and fearful, hoping that the US president will indeed be limited by his own morality. Jamaica needs to be clear that it stands on the side of the rule of law. If this matter is addressed in the UN General Assembly, Jamaica needs to demonstrate, by its vote, that it stands for the rule of law, and not with the lawless.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.