U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley previously said the lack of the support from the NGOs was a "contributing factor" in the decision to withdraw from the council. | Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images NGOs to Nikki Haley: Not our fault U.S. left U.N. Human Rights Council

Nearly 20 human rights groups defended the United Nations Human Rights Council and disputed U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley's assertion that the U.S. withdrew from the body because the nongovernmental organizations were thwarting American-led reform efforts.

"The decision to resign from the Council was that of the US administration alone," reads the letter signed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and 15 other organizations and sent to Haley on Friday. "We had legitimate concerns that the US’s proposal to reopen the Council’s institutional framework at the General Assembly would do more harm than good."


Haley, in an earlier letter obtained by POLITICO, said the NGOs' decisions not to support U.S. proposals was a "contributing factor" in the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the council. The administration had criticized the council as anti-Israel and said it gave some governments cover for abusive behaviors.

The body was established 12 years ago to replace the U.N. Human Rights Commission, and its 47-member council has the ability to establish panels that investigate allegations of human rights abuses. The Bush administration declined to join the council, but the Obama administration opted to participate.

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In the response to Haley, the organizations argued that, despite some flaws, the council addresses an array of concerns worldwide, including nondiscrimination; freedom of expression; and the rights of women, LGBTI people and people with disabilities. The NGOs said that since they are not part of the federal government, it was not their responsibility to back U.S. proposals about which they had concerns.

"We focus on building support for policies we believe will better the lives of those most affected by abuse — which does mean we are sometimes opposed to proposals laid out by certain governments, or the proposed means of pursuing them, especially when we believe such an initiative could be more harmful than not," the letter said.

Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.

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