The United States has withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council over what it called chronic bias against Israel, a move activists warned would make advancing human rights globally even more difficult.
Standing with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed Russia, China, Cuba and Egypt for thwarting US efforts to reform the council. She also criticised countries which shared US values and encouraged Washington to remain, but "were unwilling to seriously challenge the status quo."
Washington's withdrawal is the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
It also comes as the United States faces intense criticism for detaining children separated from their immigrant parents at the US-Mexico border. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Monday called on Washington to halt its "unconscionable" policy.
"Look at the council membership, and you see an appalling disrespect for the most basic rights," said Haley, citing Venezuela, China, Cuba and Democratic Republic of Congo. She did not mention Saudi Arabia, which rights groups pushed to be suspended in 2016 over killings of civilians in the Yemen war.
Among reforms the United States had pushed for was to make it easier to kick out member states with egregious rights records. Currently a two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member UN General Assembly is needed to suspend a member state.
Haley also said the "disproportionate focus and unending hostility toward Israel is clear proof that the council is motivated by political bias, not by human rights." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the US decision.
The United States has long shielded its ally Israel at the United Nations. In citing what it says is bias against Israel, the Trump administration could further fuel Palestinian arguments that Washington cannot be a neutral mediator as it prepares to roll out a Middle East peace plan.
Rights groups have criticised the Trump administration for not making human rights a priority in its foreign policy. Critics say this sends a message that the administration turns a blind eye to human rights abuses in some parts of the world.
"Given the state of human rights in today's world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back," Zeid said after Haley announced the US withdrawal.
Diplomats have said the US withdrawal could bolster countries such as Cuba, Russia, Egypt and Pakistan, which resist what they see as UN interference in sovereign issues.
Haley said the withdrawal "is not a retreat from our human rights commitments."
The EU said Washington's decision "risks undermining the role of the US as a champion and supporter of democracy on the world stage". British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was regrettable and that the council was the "best tool the international community has to address impunity."
Russia said the US had tried but failed to turn the Council into an "obedient instrument for advancing their interests and punishing the countries it dislikes."
It added that the US criticism of the Council for failing to make changes advocated by Washington appears "cynical."
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