Talks with the US over how to reform the main UN rights body have failed to meet Washington’s demands, activists and diplomats said, suggesting that the administration of US President Donald Trump will quit the Geneva forum whose session opens on Monday.
A US source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the withdrawal appeared to be “imminent,” but had no details.
Diplomatic sources said it was not a question of if, but of when the US retreats from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which is holding a three-week session through July 6.
Photo: AFP
A separate US official in Geneva had no information about a looming pull-out during the upcoming talks, saying: “We are still moving ahead with our engagement for the coming session.”
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley publicly told the council a year ago that Washington might leave the body unless a “chronic anti-Israel bias” was removed.
The forum, set up in 2006, has a permanent standing agenda item on suspected violations committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, which Washington wants removed.
Washington has said the Council is stacked with opponents of Israel and boycotted it for three years under former US president George W. Bush before rejoining under then-US president Barack Obama in 2009.
The 47-member forum last month voted to set up a probe into killings in Gaza and accused Israel of excessive use of force. The US and Australia cast the only “no” votes.
Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, Aviva Raz Shechter, castigated the council for “spreading lies against Israel.”
Talks held in Geneva and in New York for months could not find consensus on a new agenda, said activists and diplomats who have taken part.
While the Trump administration has yet to announce a decision, any suspension or withdrawal would be the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after pulling out of the Paris climate agreement and the deal with world powers over Iran’s nuclear program.
Diplomats said it could also lead to Israel being even more isolated in the council and could bolster countries such as Cuba, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia, who resist what they see as UN interference in sovereign issues.
The EU failed to find a common position, mainly due to Belgium’s wish to keep Israel firmly on the agenda of each session, they said.
The US also wants to make it easier to kick out member states with egregious rights records.
Haley has cited Venezuela, China and Saudi Arabia as defying standards.
The council has ongoing investigations into violations in hot spots including Myanmar, South Sudan and Syria, with a view to gathering evidence that could lead to future prosecutions.
Marc Limon, executive director of think tank Universal Rights Group, said there were “rumors and mutterings” of a “political decision” having been taken in Washington to disengage.
“They could either leave the seat empty, which could happen in June, or if withdrawing, formally notify the [UN] General Assembly,” he told reporters.
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