The rules-based international order is failing and America will continue to act alone when necessary, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, in a stark assessment of the post-Second World War system the US was key in building.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Rubio said countries had been unable to work in unison to tackle crises around the world, including a war between Thailand and Cambodia, Sudan’s civil war and the conflict with Iran.
“There’s unanimity and consensus here in this gathering, and broadly, that the international system is broken,” he said. “It’s broken because it broke itself. It needs to be brought back to its proper focus and its proper role.”
He added that it was “failing because it has grown beyond its mandate”.
The US was a primary architect of an international system that was supposed to encourage co-operation between countries to manage crises. Instead, the UN and other bodies have struggled to take meaningful action in averting or ending wars, refugee crises and other international issues.
Mr Rubio said the US would continue to operate unilaterally if need be, if it is in its own interests.
“At least as long as President [Donald] Trump is in office, we will always act in the national interest of our country, not in the interest of the international order,” he said. “We will never put the international order above the interest of the United States.”
But critics have accused the US of undermining the legitimacy of the international system by acting independently. Since Mr Trump returned to office last year, Washington has seized Venezuela's President and is holding him in custody, blockaded Cuba and launched a war against Iran. None of those actions had broad international support.
Iran talks
Mr Rubio's comments come a day after Mr Trump announced the US and Iran had held lengthy talks in what appears to be the first negotiations since July.
“It’s going to involve a lot of hard work over a period of time, and it will engage and involve mediators as well,” Mr Rubio said of any potential deal.
He also condemned Iran for supporting Shiite militias in Iraq and for backing the Houthis in Yemen. “Every time you guys ask me a question about the Middle East, it goes back to someone who’s supported by Iran,” Mr Rubio said.
On the civil war in Sudan, the Secretary of State expressed frustration that efforts to mediate a humanitarian ceasefire after more than a year of efforts had not yielded results.
“Every time it seems like we're on the verge of making progress, one side or the other will back off because they think they're winning or they think they could win,” he said.
On Tuesday, the State Department said leaders on both sides of Sudan's civil war are ineligible to govern the country, while warning that Washington would increase pressure on those who are fuelling the conflict.
