Nikki Haley slams Biden plan to rejoin UN Human Rights Council

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley denounced the U.N.’s Human Rights Council after President Biden announced his intention to rejoin the international governing body.

Haley, the subject of speculation about a possible 2024 run for the White House, issued a scathing tweet Monday morning, just days into Biden’s new administration.

“The UN Human Rights Council is a cesspool of political bias that makes a mockery of human rights,” she wrote. “If Biden rejoins the council whose membership includes dictatorial regimes & some of the world’s worst human rights violators, it will fly in the face of our fight for human rights.”

Haley’s assessment echoes the Trump administration’s stance toward the Human Rights Council. In 2018, former President Donald Trump removed the United States from the council, citing its anti-Israel bias.

“Earlier this year, as it has in previous years, the Human Rights Council passed five resolutions against Israel — more than the number passed against North Korea, Iran, and Syria combined,” Haley said at the time. “If the Human Rights Council is going to attack countries that uphold human rights and shield countries that abuse human rights, then America should not provide it with any credibility.”

Biden, who has pledged to rejoin several international governing treaties, is expected to attempt to rejoin the council. The U.S. will be subject to an election by the other member states. Having lost its election in 2001, the U.S. has been excluded from the governing body before, so reentry is not guaranteed.

Haley’s criticism comes as the former South Carolina governor’s name is being widely circulated as a possible 2024 presidential contender. On Jan. 13, Haley launched the “Stand for America PAC,” a political action committee that claims to be “laser-focused on [electing Republicans during] the 2022 midterms.”

“It’s more important than ever that we stand up for our founding ideas & American values. That means defending capitalism, protecting freedom, promoting religious liberty, & ensuring American security,” Haley said in a tweet. “It’s why I launched Stand for America PAC.”