Togo was the only African country to support the US’ decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
About 30 other African countries including Ghana, however voted in favour of the resolution supporting the longstanding international consensus that the status of Jerusalem – which is claimed as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinians – can only be settled as an agreed final issue in a peace deal.
[contextly_sidebar id=”1lRqw0TGLEMPHLoB3fw6bvpqDwMQZByV”]Benin, Cameroon, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda, however refrained from voting.
The voting was done amidst heightened tension as the US had threatened some member countries over voting against the US’s position.
The US was expectant that member countries backed it recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but that did not turn out as it expected.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, ahead of the votes threatened that the US will remember which countries that “disrespected” it by voting against it.
The US government had also threatened to cut funding to countries that did not back its position.
She said the US “would be taking names…When we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have expectation that we will be respected…What’s more, we are being asked to pay for the dubious privileges of being disrespected.”
“If our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our investment in other ways… The United States will remember this day,” she said.
Donald Trump, while speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said “Let them vote against us… We’ll save a lot. We don’t care. But this isn’t like it used to be where they could vote against you and then you pay them hundreds of millions of dollars…We’re not going to be taken advantage of any longer.”
The warning appeared largely aimed at UN members in Africa, Asia and Latin America, who are regarded as more vulnerable to US pressure.
Egypt, which is named among the countries that voted against the US’ position last year alone benefited from over $1 Billion in aid from the US.
How the World voted?
Countries that voted in favour of the resolution
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Luxembourg.
Others are Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Countries that voted in favour of the decision
Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Togo, United States
Countries that refrained from voting
Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Haiti, Hungary, Jamaica, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana