The United States has signalled its withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, calling it an organisation not “worthy of its name.”
Speaking today before the US State Department, the nation’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley accused the Human Rights Council of being a “hypocritical and self-serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights.”
Haley said the inclusion of nations like Iran, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Council means it cannot adequately redress human rights abuses worldwide.
She accused the Council of not implementing suggested reforms, unfair bias against US-allied Israel, and being “a protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias.”
Haley said the US would continue to uphold human rights worldwide without participating in the Council.
BREAKING: US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced the United States is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the body of bias against US ally Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable https://t.co/DU6AUmwYwM pic.twitter.com/VEHSOwDdp0
— CNN (@CNN) June 19, 2018
In response, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein called it “Disappointing, if not really surprising, news.
“Given the state of human rights in today’s world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has also savaged the move.
The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, coupled with its abusive use of power at home, only confirms what we’ve always known — Trump is leading a concerted, aggressive effort to violate basic human rights of those most in need of protection. https://t.co/7eDtDQfQV5
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 19, 2018
The stunning abandonment comes one day after the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights chastised the US for its policy of separating children from their families at US-Mexico border – a policy which bears glaring similarities to Australia‘s own treatment of undocumented migrants.
Australia was elected as a member of the Council in 2017, and the nation’s first week onboard was shaded by a massive report from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture damning the detention policies of the kind enacted by the federal government.