U.S. Representative Criticizes UN Special Rapporteur: 'Misleading and Political'

Nikki Haley, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, reacted on Thursday, June 21, to the UN special rapporteur's report on poverty in the United States, accusing him of writing a 'misleading and politically motivated' report. According to the American newspaper Washington Post, Ms. Haley also called it 'fundamentally ridiculous' for the UN to examine poverty in 'the richest and freest country in the world.' Meanwhile, as reported by the British newspaper Guardian, the UN special rapporteur 'was invited by the Trump administration' to write this report. Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published his report last month examining poverty and the effects of Donald Trump's policies on the living conditions of Americans. Mr. Alston accused the Trump administration of driving 'millions of citizens' further into poverty with its policies. He also blamed Donald Trump and the Republican-majority Congress for exacerbating poverty and inequality in the country. According to the report, the U.S. has the highest rates of youth poverty, infant mortality, incarceration, and income inequality among developed countries. The report states that approximately 40 million people live in poverty in the United States, with 18.5 million in severe poverty and 5.3 million in absolute poverty of a third-world type. In the first official reaction from the Trump administration to this report, Ms. Haley sharply criticized Philip Alston's report on Thursday and recommended that the UN focus on poverty in developing countries like Burundi and Congo instead. According to the U.S. representative to the UN, the special rapporteur based his report on 'misleading statistics' and overlooked the progress the U.S. has made in reducing poverty. Mr. Alston is scheduled to present his report on poverty in America to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday, the same council from which the United States withdrew just three days earlier. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, officially announced on Tuesday, June 19, that the United States was withdrawing from the council due to 'institutional biases' against Israel. The day after, she wrote a letter to about 20 human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, accusing them of obstructing reforms in the council and fueling the U.S. decision to withdraw. Nikki Haley's response to the UN poverty report is mentioned in a letter to Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont. Mr. Sanders has asked Nikki Haley to respond to statistics showing that 'over 30 million people in America lack health insurance, more than half of workers have no retirement savings, and 140 million Americans struggle to meet basic living expenses.'