Many allies have tried to convince the United States to remain in the council. Even many who agree with Washington's long standing criticisms of the body believe the United States should actively work to reform it from within, rather than disengaging.<doc-sep>First Name Last Name We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy. Would you like to receive The WeekDay email newsletter? We will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy. We will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our privacy policy. If you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here. ‘We’ includes The Week and other Dennis Group brands as detailed here<doc-sep>(CNN) — The United States has quit the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), saying the body is a “cesspool of political bias.” US ambassador Nikki Haley announced the move Tuesday, which followed criticism by the UNHRC of Israel’s shooting of unarmed protesters and the separation of children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. While US officials have tried to frame the move as pro-human rights, Washington’s withdrawal is likely to renew criticism that the Trump administration places less value on human rights than its predecessors, as exemplified by Trump’s dealings with alleged human rights abusers like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, and the recent outcry over the treatment of immigrants along its southern border. The UNHRC is only the latest international body or agreement that the Trump administration has withdrawn from, including the Paris climate accords, the Iran nuclear deal, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Why is the US leaving? Both Haley and Trump have previously sparred with the wider UN over criticism of the US and Israel, with Haley claiming the international community pays outsized attention to Washington’s actions while ignoring the “reprehensible human rights records of several members of its own Human Rights Council.” That comment was in response to UN criticism of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which Haley said was the “sovereign” right of the US to pursue. In a statement, US Vice President Mike Pence said that in exiting the UN body Washington “took a stand against some of the world’s worst human rights violators,” claiming the council had made “a mockery” of its original mission in its criticism of the US and Israel. However, both the Trump White House and previous US administrations have been open to dealing economically and otherwise with human rights abusers such as Saudi Arabia, China and Egypt. 04:41 - Source: CNN Outrage over Trump's praise of Kim Jong Un What is the UN Human Rights Council? Founded in March 2006, the council is responsible for “strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.” It acts as something of a UN equivalent to international human rights groups, monitoring and investigating situations in countries and drawing international attention to them. What does the UNHRC do? The council holds three regular sessions per year, as well as an unlimited number of special sessions to address ongoing human rights violations and emergencies. It can also nominate special rapporteurs for countries where human rights violations are taking place, or specific topics which need attention, such as disability rights or extrajudicial executions. Special rapporteurs can be important in bringing international attention to issues, such as Yanghee Lee, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, who has used her role to highlight what she regards as a genocide being pursued against that country’s minority Rohingya population. The UNHRC works closely and somewhat overlaps with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which also promotes human rights and investigates abuses. 01:39 - Source: CNN UN votes to condemn Trump's Jerusalem decision Why did the US quit the UNHRC? According to UN Watch, a monitoring body with historical ties to pro-Israel groups, since its inception the UNHRC has criticized Israel more than any other country. Washington has specifically highlighted the council’s alleged anti-Israel “bias” as its reasons for leaving, as well as the body’s recent criticism of the US. Recent UNHRC resolutions on Israel and Palestinian territories Resolution S-28/1 adopted on May 18, 2018 Condemns the "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians, including in the context of peaceful protests, particularly in the Gaza Strip, in violation of international humanitarian law." Resolution A/HRC/37/L.47 adopted on March 20, 2018 Expresses grave concern at the "continuing violation of international humanitarian law and the systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel." Resolution A/HRC/37/L.46 adopted on March 19, 2018 Calls upon "Israel, the occupying Power, to immediately end its occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and further reaffirms its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security." Critics of the body often point to a permanent fixture on its agenda dedicated to the discussion of ongoing Israeli human rights violations on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2006, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was “worried by (the council’s) disproportionate focus on violations by Israel,” saying it needed to give “the same attention to grave violations committed by other States as well.” US ambassador Haley also pointed to the membership of China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela on the council as a reason for leaving it. Other current members accused of widespread human rights abuses include Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Pakistan, all of whom are close US allies. Who supports the US move? Israel has long been a critic of the UNHRC, claiming it is unfairly singled out for criticism by the body. In a statement Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump and Haley for their “courageous decision against the hypocrisy and the lies of the so-called UN Human Rights Council.” “For years, the UNHRC has proven to be a biased, hostile, anti-Israel organization that has betrayed its mission of protecting human rights,” he said. Who opposes it? UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the US withdrawal from the UNHRC was “regrettable” and said while he shared concerns about the body, London was “committed to working to strengthen the Council from within.” “Britain’s support for the Human Rights Council remains steadfast,” he said. “It is the best tool the international community has to address impunity in an imperfect world and to advance many of our international goals.” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop echoed Johnson’s concerns, saying while she was also concerned by the council’s “anti-Israel bias” she had urged the Trump administration to remain on the UNHRC and attempt to reform it from within.<doc-sep>The Trump administration is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council because of what U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley described as its "hypocrisy" and bias against Israel. Haley, together with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, sharply criticized the 47-member group on Tuesday, alleging it overlooks human rights abuses in countries including Cuba, Venezuela and China while repeatedly taking aim at Israel. Haley said U.S. efforts over the past year to reform the council went nowhere, in part because of stonewalling by countries including Russia, China and Egypt. Other countries, she alleged, turn a blind eye to the council's flaws for their own, purely political, reasons. "Human rights abusers continue to serve on and be elected to the council, the world's most inhumane regimes continue to escape scrutiny and the council continues to politicizing and scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records," Haley said in Washington. Nikki Haley says UNHRC protects 'human rights abusers' 0:47 Nikki Haley pulled the U.S. out of the UN Human Rights Council after calling it a 'cesspool of political bias.' 0:47 Haley threatened the pullout last year, citing long-standing U.S. complaints over the council's approach to Israel. But the announcement comes just a day after the UN human rights chief denounced the Trump administration for separating migrant children from their parents. She also slammed the council for including Congo among its members, but did not mention Saudi Arabia, which rights groups pushed to be suspended in 2016 over killings of civilians in the Yemen war. Among reforms the U.S. had pushed for was to make it easier to kick out member states with egregious rights records. Currently a two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member UN General Assembly is needed to suspend a member state. The U.S. is halfway through a three-year term on the council. The move extends a broader Trump administration pattern of stepping back from international agreements — including the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord — and forums under the president's "America First" policy. Pompeo said the U.S. remains committed to working with "allies and partners" on human rights, but also suggested the Geneva-based council had infringed on unnamed countries' "national sovereignty." "When organizations undermine our national interests and our allies, we will not be complicit. They seek to infringe on national sovereignty, we will not be silent," he said. 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 2017, it has announced its withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, left the UN educational and cultural organization and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. Other contentious moves have included slapping tariffs on steel and aluminum against key trading partners, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the U.S. Embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv. Haley and Pompeo did not respond to questions from reporters. The council's top official called the move "disappointing, if not really surprising news." Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said on Twitter the U.S. should be "stepping up, not stepping back" from human rights work. European officials, including Slovenia's president, decried the move. UN disappointed with U.S. leaving Human Rights Council News 1:06 'Bad news for everybody who takes care about human rights,' says Slovenian President Borut Pahor 1:06 U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Washington's move was "regrettable." "We've made no secret of the fact that the U.K. wants to see reform of the Human Rights Council, but we are committed to working to strengthen the council from within," Johnson said in a statement. 'Politics, hypocrisy and evasion' Haley has been the driving force behind withdrawing from the human rights body, which is unprecedented in its 12-year history. No country has ever dropped out voluntarily. Libya was kicked out seven years ago. The move could reinforce the perception that the Trump administration is seeking to advance Israel's agenda on the world stage, just as it prepares to unveil its long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan despite Palestinian outrage over the embassy relocation. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is visiting the Middle East this week as the White House works to lay the groundwork for unveiling the plan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. remains committed to human rights, but suggested the council had infringed on unnamed countries' 'national sovereignty.' (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Last year, Haley warned the Geneva-based council that the U.S. would withdraw if it did not end its systematic scrutiny of Israel and alleged Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians. Since last year, Haley's office has also pushed the council and its chief not to publish a UN database of companies operating in West Bank settlements, a so-called blacklist that Israel is concerned could drive companies away and cast a further pall over its presence in the Palestinian-claimed West Bank. A boy and his father are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico Border on June 12, near Mission, Texas. The UN human rights chief on Monday denounced the Trump administration for separating migrant children from their parents. (John Moore/Getty Images) 'One-dimensional' policy Israel is the only country in the world whose rights record comes up for discussion at every council session, under "Item 7" on the agenda. Item 7 on "Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories" has been part of the council's regular business almost as long as it has existed. The officials said the administration had concluded that its efforts to promote reform on the council had failed and that withdrawal was the only step it could take to demonstrate its seriousness. It was not immediately clear if the U.S. would remain a non-voting observer on the council. A full pullout by the U.S. would leave the council without one of its traditional defenders of human rights. In recent months, the United States has participated in attempts to pinpoint rights violations in places like South Sudan, Congo and Cambodia. Reaction to the move from human rights advocates was swift.<doc-sep>
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, said she had traveled to the council’s headquarters in Geneva a year ago to call for reforms, to no avail. “Regrettably it is now clear that our call for reform was not heeded,” Haley told reporters at the state department. “Human rights abusers continue to serve on, and be elected to, the council.” She added: “The world’s most inhumane regimes continue to escape scrutiny and the council continues politicising and scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in their ranks.” “For too long the human rights council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.” The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, expressed regret about the US withdrawal. The organisation’s top human rights official, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a tweet: “Given the state of human rights in today’s world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back.” Haley argued the US had spent a year in pursuit of reforms while the council’s flaws deepened. She pointed to the election of the Democratic Republic of Congo to council membership in the past year, despite the US reform campaign, as proof that the body could not be fixed. She also noted the council had failed to hold a single session on Venezuela, which is a council member, or Iran, despite its ruthless crushing of opposition demonstrations. “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 West Bank and Gaza Strip. The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said the US decision to leave was “regrettable”. Johnson, who had called on Monday for agenda item 7 to be reformed, said in a statement: “The United States’ decision to withdraw from the human rights council is regrettable. “We’ve made no secret of the fact that the UK wants to see reform of the human rights council, but we are committed to working to strengthen the council from within,” the foreign secretary added. However, Haley criticised countries that expressed concern about the council but remained members, suggesting those countries lacked courage. “Almost every country we met with agrees with us, in principle and behind closed doors, that the human rights council needs major dramatic, systemic changes. Yet no other country has had the courage to join our fight,” she said. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, appearing alongside Haley, said: “Too many commitments have gone unfulfilled. President Trump wants to move the ball forward. From day one he has called out institutions or countries who say one thing and do another, and that’s precisely the problem at the human rights council.” The Trump administration had been signalling its intention to leave the council for some months, but the announcement came while the US itself is under intense criticism for its own human rights, because of the administration’s policy of forcibly separating young children from their parents when apprehended on the Mexican border. “Trump’s withdrawal is especially disturbing given his persistent praise for despots and dictators with abysmal human rights records, not to mention his administration’s cruel mistreatment of immigrant families seeking asylum,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. Advocacy groups accused the US of withdrawing from its global obligations to protect human rights. “The Trump administration’s withdrawal is a sad reflection of its one-dimensional human rights policy: defending Israeli abuses from criticism takes precedence above all else,” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said. “The UN human rights council has played an important role in such countries as North Korea, Syria, Myanmar and South Sudan, but all Trump seems to care about is defending Israel. Like last time when the US government stepped away from the Council for similar reasons, other governments will have to redouble their efforts to ensure the Council addresses the world’s most serious human rights problems.”