U.S. pulls out of U.N. rights panel

WASHINGTON — The United States announced Tuesday it was leaving the U.N. Human Rights Council, with Ambassador Nikki Haley calling it “an organization that is not worthy of its name.” It was the latest withdrawal by the Trump administration from an international institution.

Haley, Trump’s envoy to the United Nations, said the U.S. 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 organization that makes a mockery of human rights,” Haley said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, with Haley at the State Department, said 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 a day after the U.N. human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, denounced the Trump administration for separating migrant children from their parents.

Still, Haley suggested the decision need not be permanent, adding that if the council did adopt reforms, “we would be happy to rejoin it.”