Rep. Meeks Statement on US Withdrawal from UNHRC

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Gregory W. Meeks, senior member of the Foreign Relations committee, issued the following statement regarding the Trump administration withdrawing the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council:

"It is in the United States' best interest, and the interest of UNHRC's mission, not to recede from its seat at the table. The United States' withdrawal from the Council only serves to widen the gulf of global leadership under this administration's isolationism. In the vacuum of U.S. influence and moral authority, our less scrupulous adversaries will eagerly fill the void.

"There is no doubt that the UNHRC has had a history of being more focused on condemning our ally Israel than addressing egregious human rights violations across the world. There is also the subversive irony of the Council's membership, composed by the very same nations who commit those offenses. That is precisely why we should be working from within the UNHRC to shield Israel and improve the Council's ability to address human rights violations.

"I am disappointed by President Trump's continued efforts to dismantle our multilateral partnerships and international institutions, which have long served as a crucial check on the malign actions of other nations."

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