Thread by @davidakaye

let me tell you about this 'cesspool of political bias' amidst the U.S. new international #snowflake policy of withdrawal from the Human Rights Council

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are some of its members egregious human rights abusers? of course. it's comprised of member states of the UN, and it could do much better. until today it included the US, which separates children from parents at the border in violation of international law.

and yes, the Council condemns #Israel's behavior repeatedly, with multiple resolutions, upsetting many who may perceive this as disproportionate attention ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HR…

but guess what? the council has stood for human rights in a way that no other body in the UN does, advancing traditional US values in profound ways. in its last session alone, it condemned massive violations in #Syria ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

it extended the mandate of the special rapporteur to investigate human rights abuses in #Iran ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

"Condemn[ed] in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic,
widespread and gross human rights violations and other human rights abuses committed in and by" #NorthKorea ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

"Condemn[ed] in the strongest possible terms the ongoing violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in South Sudan" ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

"Strongly condemn[ed] the reported widespread, systematic and gross human
rights violations and abuses committed in Rakhine State since 25 August 2017" in #Myanmar ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

reinforced the rights of children in humanitarian situations (kinda relevant right now) ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

condemned all forms of violence, intimidation and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

called for steps to guarantee the right to adequate housing ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpag…

& this is just the last session in March. at other times it condemns #censorship and repression on the #internet, promotes the safety of #journalists, calls for digital security, & much else that tracks traditional American human rights policy.

the move to leave is self-defeating even on its own terms. it cannot be about hypocrisy b/c all political institutions involve some level of hypocrisy. it's not about the US interest b/c the US got a lot out of it.

and it's a big loss for all the victims of human rights violations who rely on an American voice, a voice that used to speak truth to the violators. a sad day for truth, a victory for demagoguery. a betrayal of what many believe america really ought to stand for.

to end, from before the announcement:

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right now I’m sitting in the Council room in Geneva, and reps of human rights NGOs are given oppty to speak abt specific country violations around the world. this is unusual in the #UN system. this is what the US walked away from.