In June 2018, the United States withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council, condemning it as a “sinkhole of political bias.”
This episode symbolized the council’s contradictions and hypocrisy: it allowed countries accused of serious human rights abuses to serve as members while maintaining a permanent agenda item targeting Israel.
This article examines the nature of the council and the reasons for the U.S. withdrawal, centering on the statements made by Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

2019-03-07
The United States Withdraws from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Calling It “A Sinkhole of Political Bias.”
June 20, 2018.

The United States has withdrawn from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Calling it “a sinkhole of political bias.”
June 20, 2018.

I thought the report of Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the U.N. Human Rights Council was only natural.
On the 19th, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced that the United States had withdrawn from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
She criticized the council as “a sinkhole of political bias.”
Ambassador Haley said that an organization filled with “hypocrisy and self-congratulation” was “making a mockery of human rights.”

What is the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The United Nations established the Human Rights Council in 2006.
However, it had long been criticized for allowing countries suspected of human rights abuses to become members.
Forty-seven countries are elected as members and serve three-year terms.
The council meets three times a year and evaluates the human rights efforts of all U.N. member states through a process called the Universal Periodic Review, or UPR.
It can also dispatch independent experts or establish committees in response to reports of human rights abuses.
Such measures have previously been taken against Syria, North Korea, Burundi, Myanmar, and South Sudan.

Why did the United States withdraw.
After criticizing the Human Rights Council for many years, the United States decided to withdraw.
The United States had also refused to join when the council was created in 2006.
That was because, like its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, it allowed countries suspected of human rights abuses to become members.
It joined later in 2009 during the Obama administration, and was re-elected as a council member in 2012.
However, in 2013, countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Vietnam were elected, and the council came under criticism from human rights organizations.

Furthermore, Israel has boycotted the review process, saying it has been subjected to unfair criticism by the council.
Last year, Ambassador Haley said it was “unacceptable” that a resolution condemning Israel had been adopted while no action was being taken against Venezuela, where anti-government demonstrations had left dozens dead.
Israel is the only country on the council that is treated as a permanent agenda item, and its response to Palestine is regularly investigated.
After delivering a fierce criticism of the Human Rights Council, Haley said, “Let me make it clear that this withdrawal will not mean a retreat from our commitment to human rights.”

The rest is omitted.