John Bolton

During his nomination, over 100 U.S envoys circulated a letter advising Congress to reject the nomination.

Bolton has lauded Trump’s budget cuts to the United Nations, going so far as to suggesting that the U.S should withdraw from and defund the UN Human Rights Council. In an opinion piece penned for the Boston Globe, Bolton, says, “the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the various “human-rights” organizations — have largely been failures.” He is also known for saying that, if the UN “lost 10 storeys today, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference”.

Furthermore, Bolton has expressed support for organisations who perpetuate anti-Muslim sentiment, including the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers an “Anti-Muslim group”.

However, John Bolton publicly supported marriage equality at state and federal level in the U.S since at least 2013 and in 2014 spoke out publicly against the anti-LGBT legislation in Uganda and Nigeria.

Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, comments on Bolton’s appointment as National Security Advisor:

“The appointment of John Bolton to National Security Advisor and the appointment of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State demonstrate the administration’s preference for conflict over diplomacy.

At a time when the world needs to invest in an international system, and multilateral diplomacy, Bolton has been vocal about his disdain for the United Nations including slashing US financial support. He has advocated for American exceptionalism, and opposed the US joining the International Criminal Court. Disdain for the international systems designed to protect human rights will hurt LGBTIQ people – and all other minorities and vulnerable populations – across the globe.”

Photo By US State Department (http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/62979.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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