Ambassador Nikki Haley’s withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council shows that the United States is not “a champion” of human rights, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“[T]he United States considers itself to be a champion in this field,” Lavrov said, per TASS, state-run media outlet. “But if it were so, Washington would have arguments that would allow it to continue working within the Human Rights Council, particularly with those who promotes initiatives and stances quite contrary to those of the US.”
Haley, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announced the exit from the UNHRC on Monday. The decision followed a year-and-a-half of clashes between Haley’s team and the panel, on issues ranging from anti-Israel bias to the corruption of regimes that sit on the council.
“This step is not a retreat from human rights commitments,” Haley said at the State Department. “On the contrary, we take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights.”
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Haley proposed a resolution to reform the council, but it was opposed by Russia and China as well as numerous human rights groups — a development that drew a broadside from the American ambassador.
“It is unfortunate that your letter sought to undermine our attempts to improve the Human Rights Council,” she wrote in a blistering missive to the non-governmental organizations that opposed her proposals. “Going forward, we encourage you to play a constructive role on behalf of human rights, rather than the deconstructive one you played in this instance.”
Human Rights Watch, one of the groups that opposed Haley’s reform, worried that her resolution would have presented Russia and China with an opportunity to exert damaging influence over the council.
“The risk was that it would have opened a Pandora’s box of even worse problems,” HRW’s Louis Charbonneau told the New York Times. “The idea that human rights groups were trying to undermine genuine attempts to reform the council, or that we were working with countries like Russia, is outrageous and ridiculous.”
Lavrov suggested that Haley, instead, diminished the body. “We hope that this decision is not final and the United States would reaffirm its commitment to the United Nations, particularly in an important area such as human rights,” he said.
But Haley put the blame very much on Russia in particular. “Look at the council membership and you see an appalling disrespect for the most basic human rights,” she said Monday. “When we made it clear we would strongly pursue council reform, these countries came out of the woodwork to oppose it. Russia, China, Cuba, and Egypt all attempted to undermine our reform efforts this past year.”
