Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, said this week that she would not be surprised if the international organization eventually recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Citing the UN’s “horrendous track record” of accommodating “the world’s worst regimes,” Haley said it would make sense for the organization to give the Taliban a seat at the table.
“If a group that throws acid on schoolgirls and is known for rape, abduction, and forced marriage is placed on the Commission of the Status of Women, we should have nothing to do with it,” Haley told the Washington Examiner.
She said the Biden administration must take a strong stand against any efforts to recognize the Taliban, especially on the international stage.
“The U.N. already has a terrible track record when it comes to giving human rights abusers a seat at the table, but this would be a new low,” Haley said.
“A barbaric group like the Taliban that harbors some of the world’s worst terrorists and sets off suicide bombs in marketplaces has no place in an organization founded to maintain international peace and security,” she added.
However, President Joe Biden has already suggested he would be willing to give the Taliban international recognition if they work with the U.S. to evacuate Americans trying to get to the airport in the country’s capital city of Kabul.
Biden hinted that he would try to placate the terrorist-harboring extremists by continuing to throw US tax dollars into the Afghani money pit—this time while propping up the Islamic fundamentalist government instead of fighting it.
“They also care about whether they have food to eat, whether they have an income that … can run an economy,” Biden said during a recent interview. “They care about whether or not they can hold together the society that they in fact say they care so much about.”
He added, however, that he is not going to “count” on the Taliban prioritizing those motivations.
The UN’s Afghanistan Mission recently pledged to continue serving in the region despite the Taliban’s takeover.
“The mission will continue its work as usual and represent the Afghan state and its people during these difficult times,” said Camilo Jose Lopez Delgado, Afghan senior technical adviser on Security Council issues, in a statement.
