Always the Same Map

This might be relevant, I just read a paper which talks about the US manipulating votes at the UNGA. Organisations like the World Bank, the IMF and USAID provide aid and loans on a preferential basis, "we know that the distribution of aid differs from need-based allocations, and is strongly related to the geopolitical interests and foreign policy preferences of the donors."

Countries which are poorer (lower GDP per capita) and "more democratic" are more likely to be punished if they vote against the USA. Countries which are "more democratic" are more likely to be influenced by financial rewards for voting alongside the USA.

My guess was that these forces were at play for countries like the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga.