“It is unfortunate that your letter sought to undermine our attempts to improve the Human Rights Council. exit from the Human Rights Council, Haley said the country is committed to human rights and keeping the eyes of the world on injustice.
United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday blamed human rights groups for the Trump administration’s decision a day earlier to withdraw from the U.N. Human Rights Council, saying the non-governmental organizations aligned themselves more with Russia and China than the United States.
Haley slammed the rights council as "dysfunctional" in a letter dated Wednesday. The U.S. has accused the group of anti-Israel bias and complained that it includes as members several rights-abusing governments.
“You should know that your efforts to block negotiations and thwart reform were a contributing factor in the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Council,” Haley wrote in the letter to NGOs, which was obtained by POLITICO with the recipient’s name blacked out. “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.”
In the letter, Haley said she has pushed for “removing the anti-Israel bias from the Council’s agenda” since last June. The U.N. ambassador criticized NGOs for encouraging member states not to support a draft resolution to reform the Human Rights Council that was circulated by the U.S. Haley said she only received written responses in the form of "demarches" from Russia and China.
“It is unfortunate that your letter sought to undermine our attempts to improve the Human Rights Council. You put yourself on the side of Russia and China, and opposite the United States, on a key human rights issue,” Haley wrote.
Sarah Margon, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, called the letter “astounding.”
“By blaming NGOs for its withdrawal from the Human Rights Council, the Trump administration is using the tactics of regimes around the world who try to cover up their own abuses by attacking their critics,” Margon said. “Instead of going after independent human rights groups that try to generate more effective policies, the administration should double down on its effort to render multilateral institutions stronger and more effective – even if it takes time – and not walk away when they don’t get what they want.”
Despite the U.S. exit from the Human Rights Council, Haley said the country is committed to human rights and keeping the eyes of the world on injustice.
“In no way does our withdrawal from a dysfunctional human rights body constitute a withdrawal from America’s fight for human rights. The United States will continue to be a world leader in calling for human rights for all people and in forcing international attention onto mass atrocities. We are happy to work together with NGOs that share those goals but not with those who undermine them," Haley wrote.
As the U.S. withdrew from the human rights group, it was grappling with an immigration policy that is resulting in the separation of children from their families after they cross the border illegally. Images of children in cage-like facilities and an audio recording of children weeping for their parents have drawn sharp criticism from world leaders.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’Ad al-Hussein called the policy “unconscionable.” U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, among others, also criticized President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump said Wednesday he plans to sign an executive order to halt the separations.
Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
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