JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON—‘’Israel thanks President Trump, Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Haley for their courageous decision against the hypocrisy and the lies of the so-called UN Human Rights Council,’’ said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement issued after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced on Tuesday that the United States is pulling out of the U.N..H.R.C., citing the world body’s “chronic” bias against Israel as one of the primary factors for the withdrawal.
‘’For years, the UNHRC has proven to be a biased, hostile, anti-Israel organization that has betrayed its mission of protecting human rights,’’ Netanyahu said, adding that ‘’instead of dealing with regimes that systematically violate human rights, the U.N.H.R.C. obsessively focuses on Israel, the one genuine democracy in the Middle East.’’
“For too long, the human-rights council has been a protector of human-rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias,” Haley said in announcing the withdrawal from the Geneva-based U.N.H.R.C in a joint press statement with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Regrettably, it is now clear that our call for reform was not heeded.”
She denounced the ‘’chronic bias against Israel.’’ ‘’Last year, the United States made it clear that we would not accept the continued existence of agenda item seven, which singles out Israel in a way that no other country is singled out. Earlier this year, as it has in previous years, the Human Rights Council passed five resolutions against Israel – more than the number passed against North Korea, Iran, and Syria combined. This disproportionate focus and unending hostility towards Israel is clear proof that the council is motivated by political bias, not by human rights,’’ Haley declared.
She stressted that the United States spent the past year engaged ‘’in a sincere effort to reform the Human Rights Council.’’ ‘’It is worth examining why our efforts didn’t succeed. ‘’There are many unfree countries that simply do not want the council to be effective. A credible human rights council poses a real threat to them, so they opposed the steps that would create it,’’ she said.
Israel is the only country with a dedicated item at the UNHRC, known as Agenda Item 7, which mandates a discussion of Israel’s conduct with the Palestinians at every session. Agenda Item 7 is currently set for debate beginning on July 2.
During its last session in March, the UNHRC passed five resolutions condemning Israel. The UNHRC has also mandated the compiling of a “blacklist” of companies that do business with Israeli entities over the pre-1967 lines.
Currently, there are 47 countries in the UNHRC, which was elected by the U.N. General Assembly with a specific number of seats for its region.
Last week, Britain urged the U.N.H.R.C. to end its biased treatment of Israel and to drop the controversial agenda item singling out the state.
Addressing the opening of the U.N.H.R.C. 38th Council session, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson criticised the Council’s controversial Agenda Item 7 ;
“We share the view that the dedicated Agenda Item 7 focused solely on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is disproportionate and damaging to the cause of peace, and unless things change we shall vote next year against all resolutions introduced under Item 7,” Johnson said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbZzm-jDGC4