US quits the UN Human Rights Council: What does this mean
- Omolade Adedapo
- Jun 20, 2018
- 4 min read
Hello fellow reader, so if you have been following the news over the past month or even since last year there have been countless amount of reporting regarding the Trump administration from their hostile immigration policy, to many more absurd news like plans to withdraw the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
As someone who is very interested in foreign policy, Security studies and Human rights. So interested that I managed to write 7 essays in my degree just on US Human rights violations during the War on Terror so you could say this makes me informed on this topic.
This news to say the least has not only "shook the International Relations" table which is set to change the dynamics of relationships between The United States and the United Nations. In addition, set to change domestic politics in the country as this week pictures and videos surfaced showing abuses of migrants in detention camps as part the Trump Adminstrations Family Seperation Policy in which reports of the seperation of children from their parents who are said to be left in cages.
So to break it down I think it is worth exploring what has recently been happening and what could come of this action.
What is the UN Human Rights Council and what do they do?
The United Nations is essentially an Inter-Governmental Organisation made up of 193 countries who are members with the intention (according to the UN charter) to not only defend the rights and protect of all individuals around the world but to most importantly maintain international peace and security. The Human Right Council is a body created to promote and protect human rights with 47 states ( ironically most of whom, including the United States are violators and perpetrators of Human right violations).
One thing that I should clear up is that the United Nations has no legitimate power on its members or sovereignty over its members so countries, in particular, the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States). In most instances, these countries also use the United Nations to push forward their intentions and own interests when it mostly benefits them for example intervention in Iraq and prior to that The Gulf war.
Messy, I know. Keep reading it gets juicier
Why did the Trump Adminstration decide to quit the Human Rights Council?
Now, I am still coming to terms that Trump is the President of the United States. But, since he started his term in January we have seen an array of news from tensions between Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong Un over the denuclearization of nuclear weapons, to more domestic issues such as the signing of an executive order to indefinitely open the Guantánamo Bay detention camp (which the Obama Administration failed to close down after much effort). This had not only been the place where human rights violations such as Torture, inhumane conditions to the death of prisoners many of whom have never had a fair trial of their detention. However, what has dominated social media and news since the start of Trump's presidency has been his policy and attitudes on Immigration.
This week the family separation policy which came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance” policy of referring all border crossings for federal criminal prosecution, which leads to children being separated as their parents are sent to jail. This in itself not only violates their right to a family life but is set to make the lives of innocent individuals more difficult than it already it.
Yesterday, the US Ambassador to the UN announced plans to leave the UN which they accused of bias against US ally Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable.- Ironic.
While I agree wholeheartedly with the United Nations failure to hold human rights abusers accountable and have even most cases been the forefront of some of these abuses- Child Sexual Abuses by peacekeepers (10 years in Haiti) and failed interventions you have to question who exactly is protecting our rights and upholding our rights when governments fail to do so.
What does this mean?
While you might be thinking the United States is one of the main violators of human Right surely their decisions to leave the council should not be a big deal.
Yes while this is true, their action to leave the council says a lot about the Trumps Administration care about the rights of not just its citizens but of people around the world. As Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty saying it showed Trump's "complete disregard for the fundamental rights and freedoms the US claims to uphold."
In addition, this could also mean they can freely continue supporting and aiding governments who carry out human rights violations in their interest and I do not doubt Trump's Administration ceasing it support for Isreal who they are strong allies with. Although Trump has now agreed to end the Family separation policy today, this is not the end to the hostile and volatile treatment of migrants but I see this as the beginning and the decision to leave the Human Rights Council could also mean no accountability for its actions to the International community.
References and articles to read more on the topic
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