20 June 2018•Update: 20 June 2018
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
The U.S.’ decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council is “regrettable”, the British government said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said his country “made no secret of the fact that the U.K. wants to see reform of the Human Rights Council, but we are committed to working to strengthen the Council from within.”
The U.S. on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing the body of being “hypocritical and biased” against Israel.
The UN Human Rights Council is "a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights", U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said at a joint news conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the decision to withdraw.
Johnson said Britain’s support for the “Human Rights Council remains steadfast”.
“It is the best tool the international community has to address impunity in an imperfect world and to advance many of our international goals,” he added.
“That’s why we will continue to support and champion it.”
Germany has also voiced “deep disappointment” at the U.S. decision to withdraw from the UN rights council, and underlined that Berlin will continue to support activities of the council.
“For us, the Human Rights Council is the central intergovernmental forum for dealing with human rights issues and an important component of the international order,” Baerbel Kofler, federal government’s commissioner for human rights policy, said in a written statement on Wednesday.
“At a time when multilateralism and human rights are coming under immense pressure all around the world, we have a great interest in preserving and strengthening the Human Rights Council,” she said.
Kofler also underlined that withdrawing from the council would not help addressing problems within the UN body.
“We should address criticism of the Human Rights Council’s work from within, not from without,” she said.
The withdrawal came following long discussions between the U.S. and UN members both in New York and Geneva, where the UNHRC is based.
It also follows an uproar over President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policy, which is causing major human rights abuses by separating children from undocumented parents who crossed the U.S. border seeking a better life.
Since March 30, at least 118 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured by Israeli military gunfire in the east of the Gaza Strip during mass demonstrations against the blockade and the U.S.’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
*Ayhan Simsek contributed to this report from Berlin
