To its great credit , the U . S ., in successive administrations , has spoken out eloquently against the UNHRC ’ s treatment of Israel . In March 2013 , it sent a letter to the Council ’ s president complaining about “ the blatantly unfair treatment that one UN member state receives in this body . The legitimacy of this Council will remain in question as long as one country is unfairly and uniquely singled out under its own agenda item .” Over the last few years , the EU has followed the lead of the U . S . and demonstrated opposition to the bias against Israel by refraining from participation in debates under this agenda item .
The hypocrisy of the Council ’ s fixation on Israel becomes even more apparent from a scrutiny of the list of its members . Among the 47 states chosen to enforce the human-rights ideals of the UN are countries widely recognized as abusers of those rights , such as Afghanistan , China , Cuba , Democratic Republic of Congo , Eritrea , Pakistan , and Saudi Arabia .
Israel , the object of their repeated censure , and , unlike them , a Western-style democracy , has never served on the UNHRC , and is unlikely to do so for the foreseeable future .
In June 2018 , after its repeated calls to rectify the bias against Israel went unheeded , the U . S . withdrew from the UNHRC .
Total UNHRC Resolutions against countries , 2006-2018
77 ISSUED TO
ISRAEL
221 ISSUED TO
ALL OTHER NATIONS COMBINED
The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights , May 2019
10 • DASHED HOPES : ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS AT THE UN