US withdraws from the United Nations Human Rights Council

The administration of US President Donald Trump has just announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council because it believes this agency has an anti-Israel bias.

"We made this decision because our commitment does not allow us to continue to be part of a hypocritical and complacent organization that makes a mockery of human rights," Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Last year, Ms Haley accused the UN Human Rights Council of discriminating against Israelis and announced that the US was reviewing its membership of the organisation, the BBC reported.

The George W. Bush administration boycotted the UN Human Rights Council when it was created in 2006 for many of the same reasons cited by the Trump administration. The US ambassador to the UN at the time was John Bolton, a vocal critic of the UN and now Trump's national security adviser. Washington did not join the council until 2009, when Barack Obama took office.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called the US move "disappointing news but not really surprising" while UN Secretary-General António Guterres hoped Washington would stay.

Many allies have also tried to persuade the US to stay on the council. Even many allies, who have supported US criticism of the UN Human Rights Council, believe the US should work more actively to reform the body rather than withdraw.