As delivered by Theodore Allegra, Chargé d’Affaires,
U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva
HRC 28th Special Session
Geneva, May 18, 2018
Mr. President:
The United States strongly and unequivocally opposes the proposal before us today, and we call for a vote on the resolution. This is yet one more example of the Human Rights Council’s biased focus on Israel. The continued insistence of this body to focus more attention on Israel than on any other member state calls into question the credibility of this body. The resolution’s one-sided focus, without any call for investigation of Hamas and without any blame cast upon Hamas for the current bloodshed, is unacceptable, and it is wrong.
This past March, like every March, this very body adopted five one-sided resolutions targeting Israel under Agenda Item 7, the only agenda item devoted to a single country. Today’s action further cements the repetitiveandbiasedapproach the Human Rights Council takes towards Israel. The resolution at issue today will do nothing to promote human rights, and it will do everything to maintain the politicization for which this Council has become so noteworthy. The United States does not support the creation of a Commission of Inquiry. As we stated earlier today, this action does nothing to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We will therefore vote NO on the resolution before us now, and we call on other members of the Council to do the same.