America pulls out of UN’s rights council UN SECY GENERAL GUTERRES BACKS RIGHTS COUNCIL
■ Washington cites council’s ‘ chronic bias against Israel’
Washington, June 20: The United States is leaving the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, which Ambassador Nikki Haley called “an organisation that is not worthy of its name.” It’s the latest withdrawal by the Trump administration from an international institution.
Ms Haley said on Tuesday the US had given the human rights body “opportunity after opportunity” to make changes. She lambasted the council for “its chronic bias against Israel” and lamented the fact that its membership includes accused human rights abusers such as China, Cuba, Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self- serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights,” Ms Haley said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, appearing alongside Ms Haley at the State Department, said there was no doubt that the council once had a “noble vision.”
“But today we need to be honest,” Pompeo said. “The Human Rights Council is a poor defender of human rights.”
The announcement came just a day after the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al- Hussein, denounced the Trump administration for separating migrant children from their parents. But Haley cited longstanding US complaints that the 47- member council is biased against Israel. She had been threatening the pull- out since last year unless the council made changes advocated by the US. “Regrettably, it is now clear that our call for reform was not heeded,” Ms Haley said.
Still, she suggested the decision need not be permanent, adding that if the council did adopt reforms, “we would be happy to rejoin it.” She said the withdrawal notwithstanding, the US would continue to defend human rights at the United Nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the US decision “courageous,” calling it “an unequivocal statement that enough is enough.”
The United States’ current term on the council ends next year.
Added Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch: “All Trump seems to care about is defending Israel.” United Nations, June 20: UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday defended the UN Human Rights Council and said he would have “much preferred” for the US to remain in the world body, hours after Amer- ica withdrew from it, citing alleged bias.
The decision to pull the US out of the UN Human Rights Council was announced by US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley who also criticised the council for a “disproportionate focus and unending hostility toward Israel”.
The US condemned the Geneva- based Human Rights Council’s “shameless hypocrisy” in absolving wrongdoers through silence and falsely condemning those committing no offence, saying America will not take lectures from hypocritical institutions.
Secretary- General Guterres, in a statement, said the Human Rights Council was a part of the UN’s overall “Human Rights architecture”, which “plays a very important role in the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide”.
“The Secretary- General would have much preferred for the US to remain in the council,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Geneva- based Council is a 47- member inter- governmental body within the UN system.