The United States has withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council accusing it of a "chronic bias against Israel", a move that activists warned would make advancing human rights globally even more difficult.

Key points: Haley says there is "unending hostility towards Israel"

Haley says there is "unending hostility towards Israel" US was half way through its term on the council

US was half way through its term on the council Rights groups say Trump administration is not prioritising human rights

Standing with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley slammed Russia, China, Cuba and Egypt for thwarting American efforts to reform the council.

"For too long the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias," she said.

"Regrettably, it is now clear that our call for reform was not heeded.

"Human rights abusers continue to serve on and be elected to the council.

"The world's most inhumane regimes continue to escape scrutiny and the council continues politicising and scape-goating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers and their ranks."

She also criticised countries which shared US values and encouraged Washington to remain but "were unwilling to seriously challenge the status quo".

The United States is half way through a three-year term on the main UN rights body and the Trump administration had long threatened to quit if the 47-member Geneva-based body was not overhauled.

"Look at the council membership, and you see an appalling disrespect for the most basic rights," said Ms Haley, citing Venezuela, China, Cuba and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ms Haley also said the "disproportionate focus and unending hostility toward Israel is clear proof that the council is motivated by political bias, not by human rights".

Australia 'disappointed', Bishop says

Remaining 46 countries on UN Human Rights Council: Africa : Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia

: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia Asia/Pacific : Australia, China, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea

: Australia, China, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea Europe : Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

: Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom Latin America/Caribbean : Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela

: Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela Middle East: Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

In a statement, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia shared many of the US's concerns about the council, "particularly its anti-Israel bias", but was disappointed by its decision.

She said it was in Australia's interest to shape the work of the council.

"Australia will continue to work constructively on human rights issues with other countries, including the US," she said.

"It was our strong preference for the US to remain a member of the UNHRC and I had made this known to senior members of the Trump administration."

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to Twitter to welcome the move, saying it showed "enough is enough".

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"Instead of dealing with regimes that systematically violate human rights, the UNHRC obsessively focuses on Israel, the one genuine democracy in the Middle East," he wrote.

Washington's withdrawal is the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

It also comes as the United States faces intense criticism for detaining children separated from their immigrant parents at the US-Mexico border.

UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Monday called on Washington to halt its "unconscionable" policy.

Rights groups have criticised the Trump administration for not making human rights a priority in its foreign policy.

Last week US President Donald Trump raised eyebrows by praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "very talented" after meeting with him in Singapore.

Mr Kim has been accused of committing a string of human rights abuses, including holding thousands of people in gulags, mass starvation of the North Korean people and countless assassinations of political rivals and family members.

But Mr Trump said he did discuss human rights abuses with Mr Kim during the pair's meeting and Mr Kim "wants to do the right thing".

Sorry, this video has expired 'We will not be complicit': Pompeo condemns UN for bias against Israel

Critics say the US exit from the human rights council sends a message that the administration turns a blind eye to human rights abuses in some parts of the world.

Diplomats have said the US withdrawal from the body could bolster countries such as Cuba, Russia, Egypt and Pakistan, which resist what they see as UN interference in sovereign issues.

'Not a retreat from our commitments': Haley

Among reforms the United States had been seeking was to make it easier to kick out a member state with egregious rights records.

Ms Haley said a year ago that Washington was reviewing its membership and called for reform. ( AP: Seth Wenig )

Ms Haley said the US withdrawal from the Human Rights Council "is not a retreat from our human rights commitments".

Twelve rights and aids groups, including Human Rights First, Save the Children and CARE, wrote to Mr Pompeo to warn the withdrawal would "make it more difficult to advance human rights priorities and aid victims of abuse around the world".

"The US's absence will only compound the council's weaknesses," they wrote.

Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Human Rights Program, said Mr Trump's "misguided policy of isolationism only harms American interests and betrays our values as a nation".

Jewish rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center applauded the US withdrawal and urged other countries to do the same.

The council meets three times a year to examine human rights violations worldwide.

It has mandated independent investigators to look at situations including Syria, North Korea, Myanmar and South Sudan.

Its resolutions are not legally binding but carry moral authority.

The United States is half way through its sitting term on the council. ( Ap: Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone )

What does the council do?

The Office of the Human Rights High Commissioner describes the council as "the principal intergovernmental body within the United Nations (UN) system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe, and for addressing and taking action on human rights violations around the globe".

"It responds to human rights emergencies and makes recommendations on how to better implement human rights on the ground," the office says in a document describing the body's work.

However it says its decisions are not legally binding.

The body also carries out periodic reviews of the human rights records of all 193 UN member states once every four-and-a-half years.

The council, which held its first session in June 2006, is made up of 47 member states, which are elected for three-year terms, with one third of the members renewed each year.

Reuters