Weeks after becoming US President Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley described the UN's Human Rights Council as “so corrupt.”
Expect some sparks to fly, then, when she addresses that body for the first time. En route to the West Asia, Haley drops in today at the meeting in Geneva to deliver a speech and take part in a "side event" focusing on rights in Venezuela. Her one-day appearance is shaping up as perhaps the standout event of the council's three-week session because the US has a reputation as a key human-rights defender and is the single largest donor to the UN.
Her boss, however, has shaken up that image and raised doubts about America's global commitments. Trump is seeking deep cuts in US funding for international organisations. On Thursday, he announced the US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, denting Washington's moral capital.
last month in Riyadh, he announced hundreds of billions of dollars in arms sales over 10 years to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military campaign in neighbouring Yemen that has killed hundreds of civilians.