UN chief regrets as US exits 'biased' Human Rights Council

IANS  |  United Nations 

Antonio regretted the withdrawal of the from the (UNHRC), said his on Tuesday.

"The UN's human rights architecture plays a very important role in the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide," the note read.

Earlier, announcing the country's withdrawal from the UNHRC, US to the UN Nikki Haley described the body as "hypocritical and self-serving" and one that "makes a mockery of human rights".

According to a report, Haley last year accused the council of "chronic anti-bias" and said the US was reviewing its membership.

Formed in 2006, the council has been criticised for allowing countries with questionable human rights records to be members.

The move comes amid intense criticism over the administration's policy of separating child migrants from their parents at the US-border.

UN has called the policy "unconscionable".

The New York-based also condemned separation of families, and called Trump's human rights policy "one-dimensional".

Reacting to the US' exit from the global rights body, Ra'ad said in that the US withdrawal is "disappointing, if not really surprising."

"Given the state of human rights in today's world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back," Zeid said.

Haley announced the US intention to quit the council at a joint news conference with

She called the council a "cesspool of political bias", but stressed: "I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from our human rights commitments."

Last year, she told the Council it was "hard to accept" that resolutions had been passed against yet none had been considered for Venezuela, which at the time saw dozens of protesters killed during political turmoil.

is the only country that is subject to a permanent standing agenda item, meaning its treatment of the Palestinians is regularly scrutinised.

--IANS

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First Published: Wed, June 20 2018. 05:28 IST