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Cherith Norman Chalet

Acting Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations (UN); U.S. Ambassador for UN Management and Reform

Cherith Norman Chalet began her decade-long career in federal employment as a staffer for Jim DeMint, a former U.S. senator and previous president of the Heritage Foundation. In her current position, she leads the UN Management and Reform section, serves as the U.S. representative to the UN’s Fifth Committee, and was a U.S. representative to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2019.

HOW THEIR ROLE AFFECTS ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

CSW is the “principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.” It shapes the global standards by which countries protect and enact policies that promote gender equality. As the U.S. representative to CSW, Chalet serves as an envoy for the Trump Administration’s dangerous mission to eradicate abortion access and diminish reproductive rights globally.

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT OF NOTE

Minister Counselor of UN Management and Reform, 2014–2018

Deputy Counselor, UN, 2012­–2014

Special Advisor to the U.S. Mission, UN, 2008–2011

Senior Advisor, Bureau of Legislative Affairs, Department of State, 2003–2007

Staffer, Congressman Jim DeMint, 1999–2003

TIES TO OTHER ANTI-CHOICE EXTREMISTS

Jim DeMint: Jim DeMint was the president of the Heritage Foundation from 2013 to 2017. His tenure has been credited as a driving force of the Heritage Foundation’s expanded political influence. At Trump’s request, he partnered with the Federalist Society to create a list of Supreme Court nominations that resulted in Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation. Prior to his work at the Heritage Foundation, DeMint represented South Carolina in Congress. Chalet staffed his congressional office from 1999 to 2003. While Chalet worked for DeMint, he introduced a bill to suspend Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the abortion pill, denounced RU-46 as “bad medicine,” and supported government funding of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. 

Bethany Kozma: Bethany Kozma is the deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Kozma was a U.S. delegation member for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2018 and in 2019 with Chalet and Valerie Huber. Kozma and Huber worked together on UN resolutions to change mentions of “modern contraceptives” to “family planning” as a means to promote policies such as abstinence-only education. Kozma has worked closely with C-FAM. She is also an anti-transgender ideologue, using her platform at the Daily Signal (a publication of the Heritage Foundation) to promote her hateful views.

Nikki Haley: Former U.S. ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley worked closely with Chalet in the ambassador’s office. Haley is a staunch opponent of abortion access, so much so that she was honored as the keynote speaker at the 2019 Susan B. Anthony List gala. Alongside C-FAM and the Heritage Foundation, Haley led the U.S. delegation for the U.S. at the 61st annual UNCSW in 2017. During her time as governor of South Carolina, she signed into law an abortion ban. Haley’s tenure as ambassador ushered in the beginning of the U.S. yielding to an anti-abortion infiltration on the global stage. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Chalet Dismissed Accurate, Gender Inclusive Language As “Jargon” Unacceptable For Use In Official UN Documents

During Her Remarks At The 2019 CSW, Chalet Said That The U.S. Mission Is “Not About Gender Jargon.” “We are not about gender jargon. Today, here at the Commission on the Status of Women, we are about women. Women and girls. The life of all women and girls. The United States is also committed to protecting the precious gift of life, including the protection of baby girls who would have been aborted, merely because they are female.” [The Guardian, 3/18/19]

THE WHOLE STORY

Chalet Espouses Her Anti-Abortion, Anti-LGBTQ, And Anti-Woman Views While Representing The United States On The Global Stage

Chalet Is A Trump-Appointed UN Ambassador

In 2018, Chalet Was Appointed To Her Current Position To Reside Over U.S. Management And Reform At The UN. “Chalet was appointed by President Trump last year to lead the US in management and reform issues at the UN. She is a graduate of Bob Jones University, a Christian institution.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

Prior To Chalet’s Appointment, The U.S. Mission Had Been Without An Official Ambassador During The Beginning Of 2019. “The US mission to the UN has been without an official ambassador this year so far, leaving it vulnerable to having to strictly follow directions from Washington. This year’s representatives to the CSW were led by an ambassador from the US mission to the UN, Cherith Norman Chalet, but most of the people on the delegation were not professional diplomats.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

Chalet Was Picked To Represent The U.S. At The UN Annual Women’s Conference The Night Before The Conference Began. “The chaos in Washington was apparent during the annual women’s conference held at the UN in March, when the US mission changed its top delegate to the event three times. At first, Cohen said he was heading it, then the White House announced that Kelly Currie, the deputy ambassador, was the lead. Finally, the night before the conference, Cherith Norman Chalet, an ambassador at the mission, was handed the task.” [PassBlue, 5/22/19]

Chalet Worked To Aggressively Advance The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda At The 2019 CSW. “The US delegation and others aligned with it deployed disruption as a tool throughout the conference to push its agenda of undermining women’s rights, most significantly the right to abortion. This behavior echoed the US at last year’s CSW, but the delegation was more aggressive and outspoken this year.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

In 2019, Chalet Continued The Anti-Abortion Work Initiated By Nikki Haley, Valerie Huber, And Bethany Kozma At Prior UN Annual Women’s Conferences Held During The Trump Administration. “The other US delegates included Bethany Kozma, a senior adviser for the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in USAID. Last year, as a delegate, Kozma caused an uproar when she called the US a ‘pro-life country.’ Valerie Huber, a top Department of Health and Human Services official, was also a delegate. She is an avid anti-abortion proponent and promotes abstinence as a form of birth control. Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, led the US delegation to the CSW the previous two years. Some participants in this year’s conference suggested that the absence of Haley, who maintained a strong anti-abortion role while protecting inclusive definitions of fender and sexuality, enabled extremists in the US delegation to speak loudly.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

  • Valerie Huber Was Also A Member Of The 2019 CSW Anti-Abortion Delegation. “According to people who attended an event held by C-FAM and the Nigerian mission to the UN on March 13, Huber was the guest speaker. The event featured a film, ‘Strings Attached,’ which criticized the Marie Stopes International organization for offering abortion services. Huber also said that the US would not support sexual and reproductive health and rights language in this year’s CSW final document.” [PassBlue, 3/7/19]
  • Kozma Cemented The Trump Administration’s Anti-Abortion Agenda With Her Comments During A 2018 UN Meeting. “An official appointed by President Donald Trump said during a closed-door United Nations meeting that the ‘US is a pro-life country’ despite the fact both the law and public opinion support a woman’s right to access legal and safe abortion. Bethany Kozma, a senior adviser in the office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment for US Agency for International Development (USAID), made the statements while countries negotiated the final document of the ongoing, annual women’s rights conference.” [The Independent, 3/22/18
  • At The 2017 CSW, Nikki Haley Welcomed Hate Group C-FAM To Represent The U.S. “This is not the first time conservative views have been pushed by such fringe groups since Nikki Haley became the US Ambassador to the UN. Last year, at the same conference, in the absence of appointed administration officials, Ms. Haley invited the Centre for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM) to represent the US. It is a think tank that has been labeled as a ‘hate group’ for their international anti-LGBTQ advocacy work and violent rhetoric by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy organization which specializes in the protection of civil rights.” [The Independent, 3/22/18

Chalet’s Comments At The 2019 CSW Contributed To The Trump Administration’s Calculated Attacks On Abortion Access And Its Erasure Of Women, Trans, And Nonbinary People’s Recognition And Rights

Chalet’s 2019 CSW Speech Argued Against Abortion Access And Comprehensive Sex Ed Globally

Chalet’s Anti-Abortion Comments Reaffirmed The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda. During a speech delivered during the 63rd Session of the CSW, Chalet stated, “Today, here at the Commission on the Status of Women, we are about women. Women and girls. The life of all women and girls. The United States is also committed to protecting the precious gift of life, including the protection of baby girls who would have been aborted, merely because they are female.” [United States Mission to the United Nations, 3/15/19]

Chalet Further Reiterated The Trump Administration’s Opposition To Abortion Access In Her 2019 CSW Conclusion Speech. “Madam Chair, the United States fully supports maternal and child health and informed and voluntary access to family planning. We have stated clearly and on many occasions, consistent with the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action and its report, as adopted by the General Assembly, that we do not recognize abortion as a method of family planning, nor do we support abortion in our women's global assistance. Over the years and among some UN agencies, the phrases ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ ‘health care services’ and ‘health services’ have acquired connotations that promote abortion and attempt to create a claimed ‘right’ to abortion. As others have said tonight, the United States does not accept these terms as they often encompass abortion as a method of family planning. Moving forward, the Administration seeks to find consensus with a wide group of Member States on other terminology that would better capture our common commitment to meet the health needs of women and adolescents throughout the world, while respecting national policies.” [States News Service, 3/22/19]

Chalet’s Comments Were Yet Another Example Of The Trump Administration’s Efforts To Impede On Global Rights To Sexual Health And Reproductive Rights. “Removing language about sexual and reproductive health from international agreements has been a longtime goal of ultra-conservative religious organizations. The Trump administration, which relies on a base of conservative evangelical and Catholic voters, has proved a staunch ally to the groups. Administration officials have argued the phrase ‘sexual and reproductive health’ amounts to a dramatic new interpretation of international human rights and an effort to establish an international ‘right to abortion.’ In fact, language on sexual and reproductive health has been an established part of international law since the 1990s.” [The Guardian, 10/30/19]

Chalet Advocated Against Comprehensive Sexual Health Education While Rejecting Previously Set UN Agreements. “The U.S. supports optimal adolescent health and locally driven, family-centered sex education provided in a context that increases opportunities for youth to thrive and which empowers them to avoid all forms of sexual risk. However, the inclusion of the terms ‘comprehensive education and sexual and reproductive health information’ is unacceptable. The application of this term often normalizes adolescent sexual experimentation, fails to incorporate family, faith and community values, is inconsistent with public health messages that promote ‘the highest attainable standard of health, and promotes abortion as a solution to a teen pregnancy.’ Madam Chair, again, the listing of various international conventions neither changes the current state of conventional or customary international law nor implies that states must join or implement obligations under international instruments to which they are not a party.” [States News Service, 3/22/19]

Chalet’s 2019 CSW Speech Evidenced the Trump Administration’s Coordinated Attacks Against the LGBTQ Community

The 2019 U.S. Delegation Was Blatant In Its Attempt To Remove Gender Inclusive Language From Official UN Documents. “US officials in New York are attempting to water down language and remove the word ‘gender’ from documents being negotiated at the UN, in what is being seen as a threat to international agreements on women’s rights. In negotiations at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which resume at UN headquarters this week, the US wants to replace ‘gender’ in the forum’s outcome document with references only to women and girls.” [The Guardian, 3/18/19]

It Was Clear To Other UN Country Delegates That The U.S. Delegation Was Acting As A Mouthpiece For Anti-LGBTQ Ideologues. “Delegates from other countries involved in the negotiations also suggested that the actions of the US representatives were trying to satisfy Washington’s orders. For instance, the cohort aimed to reduce the number of times ‘gender’ appeared in the final document.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

Chalet’s Comments During Her 2019 CSW Speech Confirmed The U.S. Delegation’s Opposition To Gender Inclusive Language. The Guardian noted that the United States has implied during discussions at the CSW that it's intent on pulling focus away from the term ‘gender’ — and toward ‘women and girls’ instead. As Cherith Norman Chalet, the U.S. ambassador for UN management and reform, said during a speech at the forum on Friday: ‘We are not about gender jargon. Today, here at the Commission on the Status of Women, we are about women. Women and girls. The life of all women and girls.’ This rhetoric reflects a similar stance taken by U.S. officials at a different UN event — the Third Committee meetings — last year. Indeed, in October 2018, The Independent reported that American diplomats were encouraging other countries to remove the word ‘gender’ from UN human rights documents and replace it with ‘woman.’” [Bustle, 3/18/19]

Chalet Chose To Quote Pompeo And Trump To Validate The U.S.’ Opposition to Gender-Inclusive Language. “Further, the document is unwieldy and retains terms and concepts that remain controversial or unclear among the broader UN membership, as others have said, which prevented all Members of the Commission to join consensus on this document. Unfortunately, we are not surprised by this outcome. Although the United States was not a member of the Commission, we participated fully in negotiations and are sad to say the clear views of many delegations were not taken into account. Some of the issues of concern to my delegation remain that the agreed conclusions must take into account the sovereignty of each country. But national sovereignty begins with a respect for human rights. As Secretary Pompeo has said, ‘nothing can replace the nation-state as the guarantor of democratic freedoms and national interests.... We aspire to make the international order serve our citizens not to control them. America intends to lead now and always.’ Madam Chair, the United States supports the empowerment of women and girls. That is why my delegation preferred the use of the term ‘women and girls’ where it provided greater clarity and focus in the document. The United States also strongly supports the irreplaceable primacy of parents and the family they create, which is the foundational institution of society, vital to the health of a nation and human flourishing. As President Trump aptly stated, ‘parents, not bureaucrats, know best how to raise their children and create a thriving society.’” [States News Service, 3/22/19]

Chalet’s Disregard Of Trans Identity Is A Part Of A Coordinated, Multi-Level Attempt To Weaponize Words Against LGBTQ People. “US officials at the United Nations are seeking to eliminate the word ‘gender’ from UN human rights documents, most often replacing it with ‘woman,’ apparently as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to define transgender people out of existence. At recent meetings of the UN’s Third Committee, which is concerned with ‘social, humanitarian and cultural’ rights, US officials have been pushing for the rewriting of general assembly policy statements to remove what the administration argues is vague and politically correct language, reflecting what it sees as an ‘ideology’ of treating gender as an individual choice rather than an unchangeable biological fact. For example, in a draft paper on trafficking in women and girls introduced by Germany and the Philippines earlier this month, the US wants to remove phrases such as ‘gender-based violence’ and replace them with ‘violence against women.’ The US officials involved in the changes are understood to have been sent from Washington and were not full-time diplomats in the US mission.” [The Guardian, 10/25/18]

Under The Trump Administration, Definitions Of Family Have Also Been Attacked To Exclude Families Composed Of Same-Sex Partners. “Negotiations over this year’s CSW final outcome document — which helps countries formulate their own gender policies — are underway. As of March 15, the negotiations had already become contentious, with part of the argument centering around language on ‘family’ and even rewriting the preamble. The US and others aligned with restricting women’s rights, such as Poland, Hungary and Russia as well as some Gulf countries and Malaysia, want to remove from the preamble the word ‘reaffirms’ the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a document that sealed the work of the momentous women’s rights conference in 1995, and replace it with ‘take note of.’ In addition, the word ‘families’ is being pushed to become ‘family,’ say some negotiators, to emphasize the traditional unit of men and women as a family component, excluding same-sex families as a unit.” [Medium, 3/15/19]

The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda, Led By Chalet, Wreaked Havoc During The 2019 UN Women’s Conference

At The 2019 CSW, The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda Was Antithetical To The Meeting’s Purpose Of Advancing Rights For Women, Girls, Trans, And Nonbinary People. “At the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York and attracting 10,000 people worldwide, tensions were palpable throughout the 11-day gathering, starting on March 11. The Commission, established in 1946, is dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowering women. But it was the negotiations on the agreed conclusions, setting in stone positions on women’s rights, where top diplomats and their delegations spent the most energy haggling ­–– including one day until dawn ­–– over such loaded language as ‘gender,’ ‘family’ and ‘sexual health.’” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

The Trump Administration Has Zoned In On Language As A Tool To Advance Its Oppressive Anti-Abortion Agenda Beyond Domestic Borders. “The latest battle over words at the UN shows how difficult it is becoming for women to decide and hold on to their rights, as the Trump administration wrestles for full control over women’s bodies and minds not only in the United States but across the world.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19] This anti-abortion agenda has no bounds, having been successful at significantly weakening a German resolution to protect victims of sexual violence during conflict. “The language of ‘sexual and reproductive health’ is what vanished during the tail-end of negotiations led by a German diplomat, Andreas Glossner, through threats of a veto by the US if the draft resolution dared to mention women’s rights that way. The success by the US in banishing this language in the new resolution symbolizes how the Trump administration is fast making inroads, now in the Security Council, to eliminate women’s rights word by word, including references to abortion or any other language that implies a termination of pregnancy.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda Has Allied With Other Right-Wing Countries Notorious For Their Restrictive Rights For Women… “And in a surprising twist, Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as well as other nations that traditionally maintain right-wing positions against rights like sexual and reproductive health, found new allies. Depending on the particular issue or word, some unlikely alliances emerged in which the US, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Russia, and Saudi Arabia agreed, mostly with the overarching goal of weakening women’s rights.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

…This Is Part Of A Growing Shift Toward Regressive Language That Restricts The Rights Of Bodily Autonomy For Women, Girls, Trans, And Nonbinary Persons. “Each year, more rightwing, conservative governments, along with the Holy See, which has official observer status, push for specific wording to be removed for the concluding document, which this year focuses on making social protection systems and public services work for women. This pushback is usually centered on references to women’s sexual and reproductive rights, gender and family.” [The Guardian, 3/18/19]

The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda Includes Opposition To Comprehensive Sexual Health Education, Too. “Joining the US on certain issues was also the Holy See, a UN observer state, in demanding but failing, for example to remove language in the final document around sexual health, contending that the language promoted sexual activity among girls as well as abortion.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

The U.S. Mission’s Agenda Under Trump Seeks To Weaken The Rights Of Women, Girls, And LGBTQ Persons… “Debates on whether to follow the word ‘empower’ ­–– the mission of the document ­­–– with the phrase ‘and dignity’ to seemingly reinforce women’s femininity also raised hackles. The US group sought to prevent the word ‘gender’ being used as a substitute for ‘women and girls’ and tried to restrict wording around migration, technology and climate change.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

…And This Global Anti-Abortion Agenda Is Fortified By Anti-Abortion Activists’ And NGOs’ Atypical Presence At UN Meetings. “Moreover, at side events and panels, nongovernmental organizations against abortion and other topics hijacked discussions, swamped meeting rooms as a delaying tactic and hired a bus to canvas the UN area, featuring a photo of a fetus on its sides.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

The Trump Administration’s Global Anti-Abortion Agenda Represents A Right-Wing Minority And Negates The Reproductive Health Wants And Needs Of Most Americans… “Yet the statements made by delegations before the agreed conclusions were gaveled on the evening of March 22 once again revealed the combative currents underlying the entire conference. The US repeated its anti-abortion views as well as its restrictive views on gender and health. Ironically, this position does not match opinions of the majority of the US population.” [PassBlue, 3/24/19]

…Who Support Abortion Being Legal In All Or Most Cases. “Today, a 58% majority of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 37% think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. These views are relatively unchanged in the past few years.” [Pew Research Center, 10/17/18]

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Connections

U.S. Delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

U.S. Mission to the United Nations