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After the US was reelected by the United Nations General Assembly to a new term on the Human Rights Council, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted the Council focus on human rights issues around the world and cease attacking the State of Israel.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) must cease with its “excessive and biased focus on Israel,” one of the main challenges the Council still faces.
Kerry made the remarks on Friday after the US was reelected by the United Nations General Assembly to a new term on the UNHRC.
“We thank the General Assembly for its support and pledge to continue to work closely with the international community to address urgent and serious human rights concerns worldwide and to strengthen the Council as an institution,” he stated.
Other countries elected to the body were Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Rwanda, Tunisia, Cuba, Saudi Arabia with its abysmal record on human rights violations, China which leads in human rights violations, South Africa and Great Britain.
He said the US has helped transform the Council into “a more balanced and credible organization” and has helped focus the UNHRC’ spotlight on “grave violations and abuses of human rights around the world,” as opposed to a fixation on Israel.
“As with all fora, the Human Rights Council is only as strong as its members, and I encourage all countries that respect human rights to be steadfast in their pursuit of a seat on this body,” he cautioned.
“While important challenges remain, including ending the Council’s excessive and biased focus on Israel, we look forward to cooperating with other Council members to address human rights concerns, advance human rights around the world, and ensure the Council fully realizes its purpose,” he concluded.
Kerry has blasted the UNHRC for its bias against Israel in the past.
“No one in this room can deny that there is an unbalanced focus on one democratic country,” Kerry said. “It must be said that the HRC’s obsession with Israel risks undermining the credibility of the entire organization,” Kerry stated in March 2016.
The UNHRC is infamously biased against Israel, with nearly half of its resolutions focused solely on Israel while completely ignoring war, strife and atrocities committed around the globe.
Israeli leaders and officials have cited the UNHRC for its “obsessive hostility” toward Israel and its “one-sided mandate.”
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel
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