United States Withdraws from Human Rights Council as Corruption and Fraud Envelopes the U.N. Body

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Henry Herrera

Telephone: +1-301-801-0608

United States Withdraws from Human Rights Council as Corruption and Fraud Envelop the U.N. Body

February 11, 2025 – President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order last week that withdrew the United States from the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC). The Order charges UN agencies like the HRC “act contrary to the interests of the United States while attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism.” (1)

The Human Rights Council was established in 2005 to replace the discredited U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan charged had “cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system as a whole.” (2) But rather that correcting the abuses of the past, observers say the situation appears to have deteriorated in recent years:

Condemnations of the U.S.: HRC expert Brett Schaefer reports, “The U.S. has received far more recommendations (1,025) for improving its human rights than any other country, which would imply that the U.S. human rights record is the worst in the world…Although the U.S. is far from perfect, any process that ranks U.S. human rights concerns as more troubling than these authoritarian regimes cannot be considered objective.” (3)

Israel: The HRC consistently refers to the Palestinian territories as “occupied,” conveniently ignoring the fact that these same areas were created by the United Nations itself under its Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. (4) In response, Israel announced its withdrawal from the HRC this past Thursday (5).

Men: The Human Rights Council has been a frequent violator of the rights of men (6). Reem Alsalem, who is the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls (7), refuses to acknowledge the existence of male victims of abuse (8). The HRC does not have a Special Rapporteur on violence against men and boys.

Kofi Annan warned in 2005, “Human rights are the core of the United Nations’ identity…Men and women everywhere expect us to uphold universal ideals….They want to believe we can help unmask bigotry and defend the rights of the weak and the voiceless.” (2)

The 58^th session of the Human Rights Council begins on February 24. Member countries should speak out to demand truthfulness, accountability, and the consistent application of human rights principles to all persons and to all countries. If the HRC refuses to remedy its double-standards, Member Nations should withdraw from the corrupt body.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 179 member organizations from 37 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

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