Trump Administration Puts UN Human Rights Council on Notice; ‘Obsession With Israel’

The Trump administration put the U.N. Human Rights Council on notice Wednesday, criticizing the Geneva-based body for its “obsession with Israel” and also taking a swipe at the presence among its members of rights-abusing regimes.

“As we consider our future engagements, my government will be considering the council’s actions with an eye toward reform to more fully achieve the council’s mission to protect and promote human rights,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erin Barclay told the HRC.

After eight years of Obama administration engagement, the council is facing the possibility that the U.N.’s biggest funder by far could withdraw. Barclay did not mention that in her remarks Wednesday, beyond the warning about considering “future engagements.”

In reference to the HRC’s often troubling membership, she said that the people of some of its member states “face ongoing efforts by their own governments to restrict their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

 

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