US poised to quit UN’s human rights council over anti-Israel actions

American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

Jamy Keaton and Edith M. Lederer write in Times of Israel, “The United States is about to quit the United Nation’s main human rights body, primarily over Washington’s claim that the Human Rights Council is biased against Israel, a Western and a US diplomat say. The move would be the Trump administration’s latest snub of the international community. The US State Department said Friday no decision has been made to leave.”…

“The United States has opted to stay out of the Human Rights Council before: the administration of President George W. Bush did so when the council was created in 2006. Item 7 on “Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” has been part of the council’s regular business almost as long as it has existed.”…

“Diplomats and activists say the US has apparently given up on its efforts since Haley’s trip to Geneva a year ago to convince the council to end its systematic scrutiny of Israel’s alleged abuses against Palestinians. Israel is the only country in the world whose rights record comes up for discussion at every council session, under “Item 7” on the agenda….Efforts by Haley and other American diplomats to end or to water down the routine scrutiny of Israel have failed in recent months at the UN General Assembly in New York.” (more…)