Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley warned on Monday that a potential move by President Biden to return to the controversial UN Human Rights Council “would face” the struggle for human rights.
“The UN Human Rights Council is a pit of political prejudice that scoffs at human rights,” tweeted Haley.
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“If Biden returns to the council, whose members include dictatorial regimes and some of the world’s worst human rights violators, it will face our struggle for human rights,” she said.
Haley was part of the Trump administration in 2018, when he withdrew the U.S. from the Human Rights Council. In announcing this decision, she used similar language at the time, calling her “a protector of human rights violators and a pit of political prejudice”.
Critics, of whom Haley was perhaps the most prominent, point to the composition of the council, which currently includes countries like Cuba, China and Russia – all elected in 2020.
In 2019, the UN General Assembly elected Libya, Sudan and Venezuela to the Council.
Critics also accused the council of having a comprehensive anti-Israel bias, noting that Israel is regularly discussed and condemned by the council, while human rights violations by other countries – including those on the council – are ignored.
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Biden promised to return to the council, but so far has not defined the criteria for reforms he would require before the United States reapplied it. Biden also moved to return to the World Health Organization (WHO), from which then President Donald Trump withdrew the United States last year.
“We will return to the UN Human Rights Council and work to ensure that this body truly lives up to its values,” said Biden in a Medium post.
He also criticized the Trump administration for Cuba being elected to the council – although Cuba was also a member of the council during the Obama administration.
Meanwhile, former UN ambassador Kelly Craft recently called for a series of reforms that the Biden government should demand before re-entering the Council.
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“In its current composition and direction, the board is not keeping its name,” said Craft.
“It is an insult to the millions around the world who are subject to oppression and persecution for seeking to use their God-given rights,” she said in a speech in December. “It is an affront to human rights defenders who want United Nations support.”