“For too long the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias,“ said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo U.S. withdrawing from U.N. Human Rights Council

The United States will withdraw from the U.N. Human Rights Council, an entity it has long accused of being biased against Israel and giving cover to rights-abusing governments, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced the decision, a move that essentially reverts the U.S. to the stance it took during the George W. Bush administration, which declined to join the council. Haley and Pompeo‘s announcement came a day after the U.N.’s human rights chief, in a speech to the council, criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration policy decisions that have led his administration to separate families apprehended after entering the U.S. illegally.


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

It wasn‘t immediately clear whether the U.S. would cooperate with the council in any form or would continue to at least observe its sessions, and neither Haley or Pompeo mentioned the U.N. criticism of Trump‘s family separation practice as being a factor.

The move will nevertheless add to concerns that the United States is, under Trump, retreating from its leading position as an international advocate for human rights. It‘s also the latest example of the Trump administration‘s quitting multilateral institutions and agreements, coming on the heels of its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

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The United States has long alleged that the council is biased against Israel and spends a disproportionate amount of time focusing on the tiny Middle Eastern state. The U.S. has also criticized the council for allowing in its membership governments that frequently abuse their citizens’ human rights, including China and Saudi Arabia.

The Trump administration first mulled quitting the council within weeks of the Republican president’s inauguration but decided to hold off in the hopes that it could push through reforms. But Haley said on Tuesday that the U.S. could not get enough other countries on board with its proposals, even when some agreed privately with the need for changes.

While Haley and Pompeo mentioned the council‘s perceived bias against Israel, they spent more time on their frustration with the fact that countries with poor human rights records often gained membership, preventing scrutiny of their records or those of rights-abusing allies.

“The Human Rights Council is a poor defender of human rights,“ Pompeo said, adding that the United States "will not be complicit.“

Haley said the Democratic Republic of Congo‘s joining the council was one of the final straws for the Trump administration. “Should it become reformed, we would be happy to rejoin it,“ Haley said of the council.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) was among those who voiced dismay at the decision.

“The U.N. Human Rights Council isn’t perfect, but withdrawing the United States from this important body sends a clear message that the Trump administration does not intend to lead the world when it comes to human rights,“ Coons said. “It also makes it harder for the United States to prevent the Human Rights Council from taking positions we oppose.“

Leading human rights activists also opposed the Trump administration‘s move.

“It’s a simple fact that when the United States sits on the council and applies its considerable influence, more of that body‘s time is spent addressing the world‘s worst human rights crises, with less of the body‘s time spent disproportionately condemning Israel,” said Rob Berschinski, senior vice president for policy with Human Rights First.

The administration got support from other corners.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said that “as long as the body‘s representation includes countries like Cuba, Venezuela, China or other governments that actively work against what the council is supposed to promote and support, and as long as it continues to push an anti-Israel bias and an anti-American agenda, the United States should not legitimize it with our presence.“

Penny Nance, the CEO of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group, also praised the decision to leave.

“It is not our obligation to align ourselves with an international body that claims to stand for human rights but cherry-picks which humans deserve those rights,” Nance said in a statement.

The 47-member council has a number of powers, including the ability to establish panels that investigate allegations of human rights abuses. The council was established 12 years ago, replacing the U.N. Human Rights Commission. The commission had faced severe criticism because its members included countries with poor rights records that undercut its mission.

Under the presidency of George W. Bush, the United States declined to join the council, questioning how different it would be from the commission. But President Barack Obama decided it was a better idea to try to influence the council from the inside than from the sidelines, including by defending Israel against critical resolutions.