By Ayman Okeil
King Mohamed Mounir sings in a verse from his song “Open Your Eyes,” written by poet Hamdi Eid from the album “Mashwar,” released in 1991: “When Khawaja Ibn Marika enters your alley, either he’ll take you for a fool, or he will harm you, my son.” Recently, some have linked this line to the actions of the Trump administration in the Middle East. However, I will connect Mounir’s words to what “Khawaja Ibn Marika” is doing at the United Nations amid the current crisis threatening activities exclusively associated with the UN.
With Trump’s return to the White House on January 20, 2025, the United States was in debt for about $3 billion in overdue payments for the UN’s general budget, in addition to other commitments within the peacekeeping budget. The U.S. also delayed voluntary contributions to UN agencies, programs, and funds. This was followed by a suspension of its participation in Human Rights Council sessions, cessation of funding directed to the council, and withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
More dangerously, the U.S. obstructed actions taken by the UN itself. It pressured to cancel the Geneva Conventions conference scheduled for March 2025. According to a diplomatic note sent by the U.S. to UN member states on June 10, 2025, the American administration stated it would consider countries that take “anti-Israel actions” during the conference, called by two UN member states and scheduled to take place in New York from June 17 to 20, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, as working against U.S. foreign policy interests, facing potential diplomatic repercussions from Washington. The U.S. also encouraged member states to refrain from participating in the UN-organized conference.
Looking back, we find that “Khawaja Ibn Marika” approaches the UN from this perspective. The U.S. has never been satisfied with the current Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, wanting to replace him, unlike Europeans who expressed their views on the current crisis in the international organization by saying, “Replacement, no; reform, yes.” However, it seems that “Khawaja Ibn Marika,” residing in the White House, is not concerned with reforming the organization but instead aims to benefit from the privileges granted to him, such as using the veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council or supplying goods and services to UN agencies globally. The total purchases by the organization reached $2.2 billion from American companies in sectors like pharmaceuticals in 2023, along with an increase in the number of American suppliers to 32 UN agencies, from 22,000 suppliers in 2022 to 23,800 in 2023.
However, it seems that these contracts are not enough for Khawaja Ibn Marika to be satisfied with the international organization; he desires an organization that solely serves his political interests and those of “his pampered policeman in the Middle East,” the Israeli occupation authority.
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