Human Rights Watch has condemned the United States government’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council saying this is a sign of the country’s unwillingness to protect human rights.
“The US has been threatening to walk away from the Human Rights Council ever since President Trump came into office so this decision comes as no surprise” said Kenneth Roth executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Trump has decided that ‘America First’ means ignoring the suffering of civilians in Syria and ethnic minorities in Myanmar at the United Nations.”
“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Human Rights Council is a sad reflection of its one-dimensional human rights policy in which the US defends Israeli abuses from criticism above all else” Roth said. “By walking away the US is turning its back not just on the UN but on victims of human rights abuses around the world including in Syria Yemen North Korea and Myanmar. Now other governments will have to redouble their efforts to ensure that the council addresses the world’s most serious human rights problems.”
The US is withdrawing from the United Nations human rights council the Trump administration announced on Tuesday calling it a “cesspool of political bias” that targets Israel in particular while ignoring atrocities in other countries.
The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley claimed that she had traveled to the council’s headquarters in Geneva a year ago to call for reforms to no avail.
“When a so-called human rights council cannot bring itself to address the massive abuses in Venezuela and Iran and it welcomes the Democratic Republic of Congo as a new member the council ceases to be worthy of its name” the ambassador said.
Haley also pointed to the continued existence of “agenda item 7” a permanent fixture on the schedule exclusively devoted to the discussion of rights violations in the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The US has long criticized the Human Rights Council for its standing agenda item 7 on rights violations by all parties in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This item was included when the council’s agenda was drawn up at the conclusion of its initial year in 2007 at a time when the US had decided not to participate in the council.
“The US has actively campaigned for removing agenda item 7 and has opposed resolutions dealing with the Occupied Palestinian Territories even when not presented under this agenda item such as a recent Special Session resolution creating an inquiry into violence in Gaza” said Human Rights Watch.
The Human Rights Council was created by the UN General Assembly in 2006 as the UN’s top human rights body. While it has its shortcomings – including the participation of persistent rights violators such as Israel – the council plays a vital role in addressing serious rights abuses around the world. It has initiated investigations into rights violations in Syria Yemen Burundi Myanmar and the occupied Palestinian territories and addresses key topics such as migration counterterrorism and protecting people with disabilities and others from violence and discrimination.
