--- description: United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke out against reported abuse and murder of gay people at the hands of authorities title: Nikki Haley: Reported Killings of Gay People in Chechnya 'Cannot Be Ignored' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6252fdfa7489651/6988c3377cdbac02abd57f0c/nikki-haley-chechnya-abuse-lgbt-united-nations.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Nations](/tag/united-nations/) ## United Nations Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nikki Haley: Reported Killings of Gay People in Chechnya 'Cannot Be Ignored'  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2017 11:39 PM CUT  U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council concerning the situation in Syria, at UN headquarters, April 7, 2017 in New York City. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council concerning the situation in Syria, at UN headquarters, April 7, 2017 in New York City.Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2017 11:39 PM CUT United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke out against [reported abuse and murder of gay people](http://time.com/4722601/chechnya-kill-gay-men/ "undefined") at the hands of authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya on Monday. [Several organizations have reported](http://time.com/4739588/russia-chechnya-gay-killings/ "undefined") that more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality have been rounded up by Chechen authorities, and that at least three have been killed. Haley released [a statement](https://usun.state.gov/remarks/7770 "undefined") from the U.S. Mission to the U.N. that said if the recent allegations of detainment and murder are true, the human rights violation “cannot be ignored.” “We continue to be disturbed by reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder of people in Chechnya based on their sexual orientation and those persecuted by association,” Haley wrote in [the statement](https://usun.state.gov/remarks/7770 "undefined"). “If true, this violation of human rights cannot be ignored–Chechen authorities must immediately investigate these allegations, hold anyone involved accountable, and take steps to prevent future abuses.” The statement also said the U.S. delegation will lead the U.N. Security Council’s “first-ever meeting on human rights in international conflicts” tomorrow. “We are against all forms of discrimination, including against people based on sexual orientation,” Haley said. “When left unchecked, discrimination and human rights abuses can lead to destabilization and conflict.” Last week, LGBTQ Advocacy group GLAAD [had called on Haley to condemn the reported killings](https://www.glaad.org/blog/us-ambassador-nikki-haley-should-condemn-chechen-attacks-lgbtq-men-and-investigate-reports "undefined") in Chechnya. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/"},"headline":"Nikki Haley: Reported Killings of Gay People in Chechnya 'Cannot Be Ignored'","datePublished":"2017-04-17T23:39:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:27:31.704Z","description":"United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke out against reported abuse and murder of gay people at the hands of authorities","url":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/","keywords":["United Nations","LGBT","chechnya","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6252fdfa7489651/6988c3377cdbac02abd57f0c/nikki-haley-chechnya-abuse-lgbt-united-nations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6252fdfa7489651/6988c3377cdbac02abd57f0c/nikki-haley-chechnya-abuse-lgbt-united-nations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nikki haley chechnya abuse lgbt united nations","caption":"nikki haley chechnya abuse lgbt united nations","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-nations/","name":"United Nations"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/","name":"Nikki Haley: Reported Killings of Gay People in Chechnya 'Cannot Be Ignored'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Chechen Police Are Rounding Up and Killing Men for Being Gay, Report Says","description":"Police in Chechnya are reportedly rounding up gay men and having them killed in an act against homosexuality.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6QBGSJVq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-04-03T15:45:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6QBGSJVq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/","duration":"PT47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4743694/nikki-haley-chechnya-persecuting-gay-men-united-nations/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```