United Nations (UN) chief, Antonio Guterres, recently gave an address to members of the UN Human Right's Council (OHCHR) and the secretary general warned them about potential human rights abuses relating to the perverse and extremist trends that are on the rise around the world; overwhelmingly aimed at minorities. And there are a number of countries that they have been focusing on with alleged human rights abuses; like Syria, Russia, Turkey, North Korea, Iran, and others.

But the group also has introduced over 60 resolutions throughout the years, that target and condemn the alleged human rights abuses in Israel as well.

Just this week, a senior U.S. official, US deputy assistant secretary of state Erin Barlcay, criticized the UN Human Rights Council for their seeming obsession with Israel and said that their unfair targeting of Israel's alleged human rights violations, was a pressing threat to the council's credibility. When assessing the human rights violations around the world, Barclay says that no country should be free from having the finger pointed at them and their methods scrutinized, however Barclay insists that a democratic nation like Israel shouldn't be audited in an “unfair, unbalanced, and unfounded” way.

What is sounds like is that U.S. officials want the OHCHR to stop looking at and reporting any alleged abuses that take place in Israel. Despite the fact that throughout the years, the UN has issued a number of resolutions regarding human rights abuses, in various countries. And I don't see or hear the U.S. questioning the allegations surrounding nations like Russia, Pakistan, Hungary, and others. The U.S. right now would much rather them be focusing on Iran, Syria, and North Korea, and not pointing the finger at Israel.

Israel is a valuable partner to the U.S., they've sent billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to Israel.

They've worked together to agree on some of the biggest military-aid deals in history. Aside from military-aid and financial support, they also provide political support to the nation as well. They have used veto power within the UN at least 42 different times, to counter resolutions pertaining to Israel. In the last 20 years alone there have been 24 vetos done, and 15 of them were the U.S. seemingly trying to protect Israel.

The United States has used its veto power within the UN on at least 83 different occasions.

This process of vetoing has received widespread negative criticism, as there are only a handful of permanent members of the UN council (Russia, France, China, UK, etc), who are able to use their veto power to quash any non-procedural matter despite the international support that there might be for it, or keep meaningful issues out of the council agenda. It shouldn't come as any surprise, that since the council was established many years ago, that those nations with veto power have used it to support their own self-interest and that of their allies.

The veto power is said to have been originally intended to act as an instrument that could help to prevent the council from ever going ahead with taking direct action on any of its founding members. But it's now seen as an undemocratic privilege for those few who have been able to manipulate the application of it.

Because of the upset over the alleged unfair targeting of Israel, the U.S. says that it will be reviewing its engagement with the council. If they do end-up wanting to leave then they will need to go through the General Assembly process in order to cut ties.

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Source:

http://www.dw.com/en/us-doubts-un-human-rights-councils-agenda-citing-obsession-with-israel/a-37767112

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-rights-usa-idUSKBN1683V7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_UN_resolutions_concerning_Israel_and_Palestine

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/amnesty-international-reveals-the-10-worst-attacks-on-human-rights-across-the-world-last-year-a6892911.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/09/united-states-israel-memorandum-of-understanding-military-aid/500192/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93United_States_relations

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-rights-usa-idUSKBN1683V7