Nikki Haley, the new US ambassador to the United Nations, has said Donald Trump’s new administration will push for an overhaul of the world body and bluntly warned those who oppose Washington’s policies that she is “taking names”.
Haley made brief remarks to reporters as she arrived on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York to present her credentials to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Aljazeera reported.
“Our goal with the administration is to show value at the UN and the way that we’ll show value is to show our strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies and make sure that our allies have our back as well,” Haley said.
“For those that don’t have our back, we’re taking names, we will make points to respond to that accordingly,” added Haley, a former South Carolina governor with little foreign policy and no US federal government experience.
“ During her confirmation hearing, Haley questioned whether the US was getting what it paid for with regards to the country’s monetary contributions to the UN.
The US is by far the UN’s biggest financial contributor, providing 22% of its operating budget and funding 28% of peacekeeping missions, which currently cost $7.8 billion annually. These are assessed contributions-agreed by the UN General Assembly-and not voluntary payments.
The White House is reportedly preparing an executive order that could deprive the United Nations of billions of dollars in US financial support.
Last year, Trump took to Twitter to disparage the 193-member world body after the US abstained in a December 23 Security Council vote, allowing the adoption of a resolution demanding an end to settlement building by US ally Israel.
Trump, who had called on President Barack Obama’s administration to veto the resolution, warned that “things will be different” at the UN after he took office on January 20.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints