FIRST ON FOX: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Thursday welcomed Russia’s suspension from the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council – and said that other countries with poor human rights records should be next in line to be kicked off the body.
“Today’s UN vote kicking Russia off the UN Human Rights Council is the right thing to do,” Haley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “When you give war criminals a seat at the table, the council loses all credibility.”
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She then added: “Now do Venezuela, Cuba, and China.” All three also sit on the Council.
The U.N.’s General Assembly voted earlier Thursday to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based council following global outrage stemming from alleged atrocities recently committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Ukraine.
A total of 93 members of the assembly voted in favor of the measure, while 24 were against and 58 abstained. Those who voted against the resolution included Russia’s regional ally Belarus, China, North Korea, Iran and Syria.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield had made the call for Russia to be stripped of its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians. The deaths have sparked global revulsion and calls for tougher sanctions on Russia, which has vehemently denied its troops were responsible.
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“We believe that the members of the Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, and we believe that Russia needs to be held accountable,” Thomas-Greenfield had said Monday. “Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce.”
Haley is a consistent critic of the Council, and was serving as U.N. Ambassador when the Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the Council in 2018. She has noted the body’s anti-Israel bias and the human rights abusers like China, Russia and Venezuela who sit on the council despite their records. She has repeatedly referred to the Council as a “cesspool.”
The Biden administration re-applied to enter the Council and regained its seat earlier this year, a move Haley slammed as “embarrassing and “dangerous.”
In February, Haley for the Biden administration to push back against Russia’s membership, given the ongoing aggression towards Ukraine.
“The Biden administration rushed to get back on the Human Rights Council right after Russia joined it,” Haley said. “They should call for Russia to be expelled immediately.”
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
