By Jamey Keaten,\u00a0Associated Press, June 21, 2018<\/p>\n
GENEVA \u2014 The UN\u2019s Human Rights Council resumed work Wednesday after a US pullout that one Western diplomat called a \u2018\u2018Big Bang\u2019\u2019 for the Geneva body, as Russia blasted the move by the Trump administration and key allies expressed disappointment.<\/p>\n
Critics and friends alike read the latest Trump move to snub yet another international institution as a sign that the United States was jettisoning its reputation as a key defender of human rights and self-inflicting a blow to its international image.<\/p>\n
They expressed support for the council, flaws and all, and vowed its work will go on.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We have lost a member who has been at the forefront of liberty for generations,\u2019\u2019 Julian Braithwaite, Britain\u2019s ambassador in Geneva, told the council. \u2018\u2018While we agree with the US on the need for reform, our support for this Human Rights Council remains steadfast.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Russia blasted the US decision, calling it \u2018\u2018boorish\u2019\u2019 and saying Washington had \u2018\u2018inflicted a powerful blow to its human rights reputation.\u2019\u2019 Russia\u2019s UN mission said in a statement that the US exit from the Council reflected Washington\u2019s unilateralist approach to global affairs.<\/p>\n
The US withdrawal is unprecedented in the 12-year history of the 47-member council \u2014 no country has ever dropped out voluntarily. Libya was kicked out seven years ago.<\/p>\n
The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, announced the pullout Tuesday, calling the body \u2018\u2018a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Haley said the United States had given the human rights body \u2018\u2018opportunity after opportunity\u2019\u2019 to make changes. She criticized the council for \u2018\u2018its chronic bias against Israel,\u2019\u2019 pointing out that it includes accused human rights abusers such as China, Cuba, Venezuela, and Congo.<\/p>\n
Defending the move, US national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday \u2018\u2018we don\u2019t need advice by the UN or other international bodies on how to govern ourselves.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Bolton told Fox News the decision was made by President Trump weeks ago.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the US chairs sat empty as discussion turned to summary executions, freedom of expression, the rights of migrants, and violence against women. The US pullout leaves the council without one of its traditional defenders of human rights.<\/p>\n
Just two days ago, American representatives were still taking part by condemning issues like constraints on civil society in Egypt and curbs on a free press in Bahrain.<\/p>\n
One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the United States was notably absent from an informal back room meeting in Belarus that it might normally have attended. He said the US walkout could be a \u2018\u2018big bang\u2019\u2019 to help prod reform at the council.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office called the US decision \u2018\u2018courageous,\u2019\u2019 saying it was \u2018\u2018an unequivocal statement that enough is enough.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
But envoys from Australia, the European Union, and China \u2014 a frequent target of US criticism over Beijing\u2019s rights record \u2014 used a break in the council\u2019s regular work to express disappointment and regret.<\/p>\n
President Borut Pahor of Slovenia \u2014 the home country of Melania Trump \u2014 said the American withdrawal was \u2018\u2018bad news\u2019\u2019 for \u2018\u2018everybody\u2019\u2019 who cares about human rights.<\/p>\n
In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized what she described as Washington\u2019s \u2018\u2018boorish cynicism in stubbornly refusing to recognize its own human rights problems while trying to tailor the council to its political interests.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n