Israel and the USA pull out from UN Human Rights Council meetings
Israel will not participate in the meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of promoting anti-Semitism, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced.
Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, announced that his country will not participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meetings. Saar accused this institution of focusing on attacking Israel and spreading anti-Semitism instead of promoting human rights.
Saar emphasised that the Council has adopted more than 100 resolutions condemning Israel, which accounts for more than 20% of the institution's resolutions. This is more than the total number of resolutions against Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela combined.
US reaction
Israel's decision coincided with a similar move by the United States. US President Donald Trump announced that American representatives would not participate in the Council's meetings.
Council spokesperson Pascal Sim reminded that Israel, like the USA, has observer status and is not a member of the Council. Israel attended evaluations of the human rights situation but often boycotted sessions on the situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.
Response to Israel’s decision
In response to the criticism, Council spokesperson Pascal Sim emphasised that Israel, like the USA, has only observer status and is not one of the 47 member states. Therefore, Israel cannot resign from the Council.
Israel participated in all evaluations of the human rights situation which UN member states must undergo. It has also frequently boycotted the Council’s sessions when debates focused on the state of human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.
