The United States delegation left a UN Security Council meeting on Monday in protest at remarks by France that criticised Washington’s record on a human rights vote, according to BBC News.
The dispute followed a vote last week in which the US joined North Korea and Russia in opposing the extension of Volker Turk’s term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
After Friday’s vote, France’s UN mission wrote on X that the US had once been “a beacon of human rights” but was “not anymore”, comparing Washington’s position with those of North Korea and Russia.
US ambassador Mike Waltz responded by accusing France of supporting a human rights chief who had been “lecturing” democratic countries while “cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors”. He did not elaborate further, BBC News reported.
The walkout took place while France’s ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, was speaking during an emergency Security Council session on Russia’s war in Ukraine. US ambassador Dan Negrea said the delegation would keep making similar protests until France withdrew what he called “condescending and disrespectful rhetoric”.
Turk’s second term was approved by 144 states, with 10 voting against and 13 abstaining. He has criticised Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s military conduct in Gaza.
US ambassador Jeff Bartos criticised Turk’s reappointment on Friday and said Washington would reassess its engagement, participation and funding. Bonnafont described Turk as “a voice of conscience” who had shown “rigor and impartiality” in his first term.
Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq declined to comment on the US walkout, saying the UN expected member states to respect the decision.
