The United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council. This was announced by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, accusing the institution of being "a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political prejudices". The withdrawal has arrived while the Trump administration is under the fire of an intense criticism for its policies of "zero tolerance" adopted at the border with Mexico, where in recent weeks the authorities are separating children from parents who try to enter illegally in the United States. Meanwhile, Russia has put forward its candidacy for the seat of the Human Rights Council, lost in the 2016 elections for the protests triggered by its support for the Syrian regime.
"I want to make it clear that this step is not a withdrawal from our commitment to human rights," Haley said. "We take this initiative because our commitment on this front does not allow us to continue to be part of a self-righteous and selfish organization. mocking human rights ". Haley admitted that the United States failed to convince any other country to openly support Washington's efforts to reform the council, "an organization not worthy of its name". But "no other country has had the courage to join our struggle". "When we made it clear that we would strongly pursue the reform of the Council countries like Russia, China, Cuba and Egypt have tried to undermine our efforts," the ambassador thundered, criticizing those countries that share the same values as the United States, but " they did not want to seriously question the status quo. "
"Look at the council members and see a frightening lack of respect for the most basic rights," Haley said, citing Venezuela, China, Cuba and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, admitted as a member despite the discovery of mass graves. This arena "is overly focused and infinitely hostile to Israel" which, he says, "is a clear demonstration that the council is guided by political intentions and not by human rights".