The Trump administration on Wednesday confirmed a weeks-long rumor by officially withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) — and of course, liberal outrage ensued.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson referred to the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the U.S., while also citing Trump's immigration policy.
Sickening irony that Nikki Haley announced U.S. will withdraw from UN Human Rights Council on Juneteenth (which marks of the “end” of slavery June 19, 1865 ), as Trump Administration is tearing asylum-seeking families apart and locking their children in caged detention centers. https://t.co/xbsxraktUu
— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) June 19, 2018
Author Emma Kennedy expressed her displeasure in a viral tweet, asking “Know who else hates the UN Human Rights Council? Dictatorships.”
Know who else hates the UN Human Rights Council? Dictatorships.
— Emma Kennedy (@EmmaKennedy) June 19, 2018
However, the facts show otherwise. A driving factor for the U.S.’s withdrawal is the legitimacy the UNHRC gives dictators.
As Lone Conservative pointed out on Twitter, the council has many human rights violators of their own, including China, Venezuela, and Cuba.
Notable countries on the HRC:
— Lone Conservative (@LoConservative) June 19, 2018
- Burundi
- Egypt
- Rwanda
- Cuba
- Venezuela
- China
- India
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
What do they have in common you might ask? The UN Human Rights Council 8th annual report found they all violated human rights. They won't be missed. https://t.co/vzunHY9PqN
U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called the UNHRC a “hypocritical and self-serving” organization that has “cesspool of political bias,” specifically against Israel.
RT @USUN: With members like China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela the Human Rights Council is not worth its name. pic.twitter.com/eEETxFvw19
— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) June 19, 2018
From 2006 to 2016, the UNHRC condemned Israel 68 times, while failing to condemn China, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Turkey, or Venezuela even once.
The council was created in 2006 in response to the decimation of the U.N.’s Human Rights Commission. President Bush refused to join the new council; however, President Obama joined in 2009, ensuring the U.S.’s presence until the Trump administration’s decision to leave this week.