U.S. pulls out of UN Human Rights Council
- 6 years ago
Now for a look at stories making headlines around the world….
The United States has pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the body of anti-Israel bias.
For more on this and other international news we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… yet another withdrawal by the U.S. from a multilateral engagement….
That's right Semin… Washington has already pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.
This time it's the UN Human Rights Council.
The U.S. envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement in a joint press conference on Tuesday.
Haley described the council as "hypocritical and self-serving" for being biased against U.S. ally Israel, but not holding human rights abusers accountable.
"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. Such a council in fact damages the cause of human rights. And then of course there is the matter of the chronic bias against Israel."
The council voted last month to investigate the killings of Palestinians in Gaza, accusing Israel of using excessive force - a move which angered the U.S.
But the threat of pulling out actually came last year when Haley urged for reform.
The announcment also comes as the Trump administration faces intense criticism over its policy to detain children separately from their immigrant parents.
In response, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric expressed disappointment, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would have much preferred for the U.S. to remain in the council.
The U.S. initially snubbed the council back in 2006 under the Bush administration over similar concerns, but joined three years later under the Obama administration and was currently halfway through a third three-year term.
The United States has pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the body of anti-Israel bias.
For more on this and other international news we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… yet another withdrawal by the U.S. from a multilateral engagement….
That's right Semin… Washington has already pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal.
This time it's the UN Human Rights Council.
The U.S. envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement in a joint press conference on Tuesday.
Haley described the council as "hypocritical and self-serving" for being biased against U.S. ally Israel, but not holding human rights abusers accountable.
"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. Such a council in fact damages the cause of human rights. And then of course there is the matter of the chronic bias against Israel."
The council voted last month to investigate the killings of Palestinians in Gaza, accusing Israel of using excessive force - a move which angered the U.S.
But the threat of pulling out actually came last year when Haley urged for reform.
The announcment also comes as the Trump administration faces intense criticism over its policy to detain children separately from their immigrant parents.
In response, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric expressed disappointment, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would have much preferred for the U.S. to remain in the council.
The U.S. initially snubbed the council back in 2006 under the Bush administration over similar concerns, but joined three years later under the Obama administration and was currently halfway through a third three-year term.