US leaving UN rights council
Ambassador Haley cites anti-Israel bias
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 and Venezuela.
“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,” Mr 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 Ms Haley cited longstanding US complaints that the 47-member council is biased against Israel. She had been threatening the pullout 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 move extends a broader Trump administration pattern of stepping back from international agreements and forums under the president’s “America First” policy. Although numerous officials have said repeatedly that “America First does not mean America Alone,” the administration has retreated from multiple multilateral accords and consensuses since it took office.
Since January last year, it has announced its withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, left the UN educational and cultural organisation and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. Other contentious moves have included slapping tariffs on steel and aluminium against key trading partners, recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Opposition to the decision from human rights advocates was swift. A group of 12 organisations including Save the Children, Freedom House and the United Nations Association-USA said there were “legitimate concerns” about the council’s shortcomings but that none of them warranted a US exit.
“This decision is counterproductive to American national security and foreign policy interests and will make it more difficult to advance human rights priorities and aid victims of abuse around the world,” the organisations said in a joint statement.
Added Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch: “All Trump seems to care about is defending Israel.”
On Twitter, Mr al-Hussein, the UN human rights chief, said it was “Disappointing, if not really surprising, news. Given the state of #HumanRights in today’s world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back.”
Ms Haley has been the driving force behind withdrawing from the human rights body, unprecedented in the 12-year history of the council.