Nicki Minaj stood before diplomats and world leaders on Tuesday, Nov. 18, using her voice to highlight the deadly threats faced by thousands of Christians in Nigeria.The rapper, 42, was introduced by the United Nations ambassador Mike Waltz before she stepped on the podium. Beginning her speech, she expressed her gratitude to Waltz and President Donald Trump, saying it was "an honor" to speak about the Christians under threat in Nigeria."I stand here as a proud New Yorker with a deep sense of gratitude that we live in a country where we can freely and safely worship God regardless of one’s creed, background, or politics."Nicki Minaj continued:"No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion, like I recently stated on social media. And we don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other."The "Starships" hitmaker also gave her fans — affectionately called Barbz — a shoutout, revealing that many of them live there."I am joined here today by peace builders, by faith leaders, by those who saw violence, saw intolerance, saw the threats clearly before us and chose not to look the other way. I am inspired by their work to build interfaith ties, to see the humanity across the lines which might divide us and to vie and to fight for security and liberty for all those who pray."READ: "Means more than you know": Nicki Minaj reacts after being chosen to speak at the UN with Mike Waltz on rising violence against Christians in Nigeria"Principled individual": Mike Waltz grateful, praises Nicki Minaj for not keeping silent on injusticeDays before her United Nations speech, Waltz praised Nicki Minaj, citing her as the "greatest female recording artist" and a "principled individual" who speaks out and calls for awareness of injustice. He wrote:"I’m grateful she’s leveraging her massive platform to spotlight the atrocities against Christians in Nigeria, and I look forward to standing with her as we discuss the steps the President and his administration are taking to end the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters."Nicki Minaj responded to the praise with gratitude, reposting on X/Twitter with the text:"Ambassador, I am so grateful to be entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude. I do not take it for granted. It means more than you know."The "Bang Bang" also addressed her fandom."The Barbz & I will never stand down in the face of injustice. We’ve been given our influence by God. There must be a bigger purpose."The rapper, earlier this month, garnered attention after screen-grabbing a Truth Social post by Trump about Nigeria. Nicki Minaj wrote in her caption:"Reading this gave me a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever face persecution for practicing their faith. We don’t have to share the same beliefs to respect one another."