United States has withdrawn its participation and financial support from the “cesspool” Human Rights Council. In her statement, Ambassador Haley said, “For too long, the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias. Regrettably, it is now clear that our call for reform was not heeded. Human rights abusers continue to serve on and be elected to the council. The world’s most inhumane regimes continue to escape scrutiny, and the council continues politicizing and scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in their ranks.”
Her announcement was made just hours before a wave of mortars from Gaza terrorists began hitting communities in Israel. The mortar assault continued throughout the night as Red Alert sirens kept Israeli families awake in their bomb shelters. Terrorists fired a total of 45 mortars into Israel last night.
This bombardment of civilian areas, including a kindergarten in Israel, is the second major mortar attack on Israel from Gaza in the last month. The UN Human Rights Council has not condemned Hamas or any Palestinian entity for these attacks against Israeli civilians. The previous attack that took place on May 29th—which sent one million Israelis into bomb shelters while over 100 rockets and mortars fell on their homes, businesses, and schools—was not even mentioned at the June 18thmeeting of the UN Human Rights Council. Instead, at that meeting the UNHRC chose to focus its outrage against Israel.
The chronic bias against Israel was cited by Ambassador Haley in her remarks yesterday. “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.”