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US quits 'biased' UN human rights council US quits 'biased' UN human rights council
(35 minutes later)
The US has pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council.The US has pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The body is "hypocritical and self-serving", said Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN, at a news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo The body is "hypocritical and self-serving" and "makes a mockery of human rights", said Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN.
Ms Haley last year accused the council of "chronic anti-Israel bias" and said the US was reviewing its membership.Ms Haley last year accused the council of "chronic anti-Israel bias" and said the US was reviewing its membership.
Formed in 2006, the council has been criticised for allowing countries with questionable human rights records to be members.Formed in 2006, the council has been criticised for allowing countries with questionable human rights records to be members.
UN officials have not yet commented on the US announcement. UN officials are yet to comment on the US announcement. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch condemned the move, and called President Trump's human rights policy "one-dimensional".
The move comes amid intense criticism over the Trump administration's policy of separating child migrants from their parents at the US-Mexico border.The move comes amid intense criticism over the Trump administration's policy of separating child migrants from their parents at the US-Mexico border.
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad has called the policy "unconscionable".UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad has called the policy "unconscionable".
Meanwhile the campaign group Human Rights Watch criticised President Trump's human rights policy as "one-dimensional". More dismay among allies
"The UN Human Rights Council has played an important role in such countries as North Korea, Syria, Myanmar and South Sudan, but all Trump seems to care about is defending Israel," said HRW executive director Kenneth Roth. By BBC's Nada Tawfik in New York
What is the UN Human Rights Council? This is just the latest rejection of multilateralism by the Trump administration, and will likely unsettle those who look to the United States to protect and promote human rights around the world.
In her first address to the council a year ago, Ms Haley said it was "hard to accept" that resolutions had been passed against Israel yet none had been considered for Venezuela, which at the time saw dozens of protesters killed during political turmoil. The United States has always had a conflicting relationship with the UN Human Rights Council. The Bush Administration decided to boycott the council when it was created in 2006 for many of the same reasons cited by the Trump administration.
"It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias if it is to have any credibility," she said. The then UN ambassador was John Bolton - who is currently President Trump's national security adviser and a strong critic of the UN.
It wasn't until years later, in 2009, that the United States re-joined under the Obama administration.
Many allies have tried to convince the United States to remain in the council. Even many who agree with Washington's long standing criticisms of the body believe the United States should actively work to reform it from within, rather than disengaging.
Ms Haley announced the US's intention to quit the council at a joint news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
She called the council a "cesspool of political bias", but stressed: "I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from our human rights commitments."
Last year, she told the council it was "hard to accept" that resolutions had been passed against Israel yet none had been considered for Venezuela, which at the time saw dozens of protesters killed during political turmoil.
Israel is the only country that is subject to a permanent standing agenda item, meaning its treatment of the Palestinians is regularly scrutinised.Israel is the only country that is subject to a permanent standing agenda item, meaning its treatment of the Palestinians is regularly scrutinised.
Leaving the council would would be the latest rejection by the US of multilateral efforts, including the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal. What is the UN Human Rights Council?