Nikki Haley in Geneva: Human Rights Violators Should Not Be Members of the UN Human Rights Council
Nikki Haley, the United States representative to the United Nations, addressed the 35th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland for the first time. She stated that human rights violators should not be members of the UN Human Rights Council.
According to Voice of America, Ms. Haley emphasized that this council is a place for civil nations and those who respect human rights, and said that countries like Venezuela, which do not respect human rights in their own country, should voluntarily withdraw from the Human Rights Council.
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, traveled to Geneva to address the council and spoke on the first day of the session. This is the first time that the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations has addressed this council.
The U.S. representative to the United Nations added: The United States is pursuing Venezuela’s human rights violations. If this country cannot respect human rights, it should voluntarily withdraw from this council.
She added: Membership in the UN Human Rights Council is truly a privilege, and someone who violates human rights should not sit at this table.
The U.S. representative to the United Nations, criticizing the performance of the UN Human Rights Council, pointed out that despite human rights violations occurring in Venezuela, this council has never passed a resolution against that country, yet this same council has passed several resolutions against Israel. It must be clarified why this council has taken an anti-Israel stance.
Ms. Haley also said the UN Human Rights Council should pass very decisive resolutions regarding the human rights situation in Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Belarus, and Ukraine to give people hope that justice will be restored to these countries.
She added: Respect for human rights always aligns with peace and peaceful coexistence. While this body addresses the issue of human rights, all other institutions should contribute to respecting human rights in the world.
Nikki Haley previously stated that she would travel to Geneva to discuss the need for structural reforms and to determine through discussions with members what an effective council should look like from the U.S. perspective.
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, in an op-ed published Friday in the Washington Post, strongly criticized the UN Human Rights Council and said that dictators use their membership in this council to whitewash their violence, and referred to specific cases including Venezuela and Cuba that, despite a history of human rights violations, are members of the Human Rights Council.
Nikki Haley called for fundamental changes to this council in her op-ed, including preventing human rights-violating countries from being members of this subsidiary body of the United Nations.
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations also expressed concern and criticism regarding America’s concern about “discrimination against Israel and hostility toward that country” in the Human Rights Council.
Ms. Haley wrote in her op-ed for the Washington Post that when Israel is condemned 70 times in this council and Iran only 7 times, it is clear that something is wrong.
Ms. Haley previously also described this council as corrupt in a speech in March.
This is Ms. Haley’s second foreign trip as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Two weeks ago, she also visited Syrian refugee camps during her trip to Jordan and Turkey.
Ms. Haley will subsequently travel to Israel to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The 35th Session
The 35th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council began in Geneva, Switzerland. During the three-week session, a wide range of topics related to human rights will be reviewed, including the right to privacy, rights of persons with disabilities, children’s rights, and minority rights.
Also, reports from the special rapporteur on the protection and promotion of freedom of opinion and expression will be presented. The annual session on women’s rights and technical cooperation meetings, review of the human rights situation in Congo, Ukraine, and the development of human rights infrastructure in Georgia are among the other programs of this session.
The UN Human Rights Council was formed in 2006, and former U.S. President Barack Obama believed that this country’s presence would contribute to its mandate.
However, the Trump administration has raised the option of the United States withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council.
In addition to Ms. Haley, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also warned about this matter.
Mr. Tillerson said that if the council does not reform itself, the U.S. will consider the issue of withdrawing from it, saying the goal is to put this organization in order.
Therefore, overall, the United States criticizes this council for several reasons: first, the membership of countries that are considered human rights violators and have an unacceptable record in this regard, and second, what the United States calls one-sided accusations against Israel.
Source: Voice of America
