The United States on Tuesday announced
it has withdrawn from the United Nation's Human Rights Council.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley
and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision during a
press conference at the State Department.
Haley said that countries such as Cuba,
Venezuela, China and the Democratic Republic of Congo with
“unambiguous and abhorrent human rights records” are members of
the council and that the council has a “chronic bias against”
Israel.
Pompeo called the council a “poor
defender of human rights.”
“[The council] has become an exercise
in shameless hypocrisy – with many of the world's worst human
rights abuses going ignored, and some of the world's most serious
offenders sitting on the council itself,” he said.
In 2009, the United States joined the
council, which was created in 2006. In the last ten years, the
council has become a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, approving
resolutions condemning violence and discrimination against the LGBT
community.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, called the decision to
withdraw from the council “deeply disappointing.”
“This decision is counterproductive
to American national security and foreign policy interests and will
make it more difficult to advance human rights priorities and aid
victims of abuse around the world,” HRC said in a letter to Pompeo
signed by several organizations.
Haley added that the U.S. would be
“happy to rejoin” a “reformed” Human Rights Council.