US
considers quitting UN Human Rights Council
The
body has been accused of unfairly targeting Israel, and Trump aides
are questioning its usefulness.
By NAHAL TOOSI AND
ELIANA JOHNSON 2/26/17, 9:59 AM CET Updated 2/26/17, 10:01 AM CET
The Trump
administration is considering pulling the United States out of the
United Nations Human Rights Council, a body that has been accused of
being biased against Israel and criticized for including abusive
governments, according to two sources in regular contact with former
and current U.S. officials.
No immediate
withdrawal is expected ahead of the council’s next session, which
starts Monday, but discussion of abandoning the council is likely to
alarm international activists already worried that the United States
will take a lower profile on global human rights issues under
President Donald Trump.
A final decision on
membership in the council would likely involve Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson, as well as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,
Nikki Haley, and of course the president himself.
A former State
Department official briefed on the discussions said while the
council’s targeting of Israel is likely part of the debate, there
also are questions about its roster of members and doubts about its
usefulness overall.
Countries known for
human rights abuses, such as China and Saudi Arabia, have managed to
snag seats on the 47-member council.
“There’s been a
series of requests coming from the secretary of state’s office that
suggests that he is questioning the value of the U.S. belonging to
the Human Rights Council,” the former official said.
In a recent meeting
with mid-level State Department officials, Tillerson expressed
skepticism about the council, which has a number of powers, including
the ability to establish panels that probe alleged human rights
abuses.
A spokesman for
Haley did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
White House press aides also did not immediately offer comment.
State Department
spokesman Mark Toner did not address whether U.S. membership on the
council was being reconsidered, but said, “Our delegation will be
fully involved in the work of the HRC session which starts Monday.”
The Human Rights
Council was established in 2006. It replaced the U.N. Human Rights
Commission, which had faced severe criticism because countries with
poor rights records became members and prevented it from carrying out
its mission to the fullest.
The Bush
administration refused to join the new council, questioning whether
it would be much different. But under President Barack Obama, the
U.S. felt it was more useful to be part of the council and try to
influence it from the inside, including by speaking out in support of
Israel.
Still, supporters of
Israel have accused the council of being overly focused on the
Jewish-majority state, by pushing critical resolutions, for example.
Israel had a
difficult relationship with the Obama administration, one that hit a
new low late last year after Obama decided not to veto a U.N.
Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlement
construction.
Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear he looks forward to
working with Trump, while Haley also has been very public about
America’s plans to shield Israel from critics at the United
Nations.
The Human Rights
Council’s membership is laced with political symbolism. Last year,
Russia lost its seat on the body after a vote by the U.N. General
Assembly, apparently due to international fury over Moscow’s role
in the Syrian conflict.
Authors:
Nahal Toosi and
Eliana Johnson
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