US Turning Its Back on Human Rights: How Leaving the Human Rights Council Damages US-EU and UN relations

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, Jan. 31, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

In 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council. US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Nikki R. Haley, highlighted at the June General Assembly that this decision was due to the growing concern that the Human Rights Council was driven by “political bias” rather than humanitarian rights due to the “disproportionate focus and unending hostility towards Israel.” She further stated that the US would not provide “any credibility” if the council was “going to attack countries that uphold human rights and shield countries that abuse human rights.”

This decision has led humanitarian critics to question the biases of the Trump administration with advocacy director at the non-profit organization Human Rights Watch, John Sifton, stating that “All [the] administration seems to care about when it comes to the council is defending Israel.” Sifton further criticized that by withdrawing from the council over alleged bias, the Trump administration is, in effect, reinforcing the very flaw it criticized.

Three years later under the Biden Administration, Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, announced that the US officially regained a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council and noted that per President Biden’s promise, American engagement internationally would be restored.

However, the administration expressed its concern of the council’s stance with Israel and the membership of several states with “egregious” human rights records. Blinken expressed the US’s optimistic stance that with effective cooperation with international partners the council will “protect, defend, and advance human rights and the work of the council globally.”

Four years later with Trump back in office, the administration revived its contentious relationship with the UN Human Rights council. On Feb. 4, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Human Rights Council, this time highlighting the Council’s potential, but noting that as of currently, the organization is falling short of it.

This order reintroduces similar criticisms that marked the Trump Administration’s initial withdrawal from the council. Unlike the administration’s last withdrawal from the council, this time they announced that the US will also no longer fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a UN body established in 1949 to provide assistance and protections to more than five million Palestinian refugees. The agency was widely seen as part of the US strategy in the Middle East, often criticized as both supportive and exploitative.

Furthermore, the withdrawal from the council has sparked significant backlash from international organizations and representatives, building uncertainty in the credibility of the US. Humanitarian advocacy groups such as Amnesty International Australia have highlighted their concern and condemnation for the administration’s decision to withdraw from the council, stating that “[t]his reckless and performative decision not only weakens the global human rights protection but enables impunity for those who commit human rights violations.” Additionally, the organization highlights that there is growing concern that the “withdrawal sends a dangerous message” that a global power can readily dismiss rising concerns while perpetuating humanitarian violations on the world stage.

Marc Botenga, Member of European Parliament, speaking to the European Parliament at the European Union Conference. https://youtu.be/RAfR2ExEDA8?si=GUCGPR6QKqyjjRR0

Growing criticism has been recently voiced at a European Union Conference where member of EU parliament for Belgium, Marc Botenga, criticized the US’s withdrawal from the Human Rights Council, as well as the EU’s submissive stance toward the US. 

Botenga expressed his perspective of the US’s downfall and stated that the decision “makes the world for all Europeans a more dangerous place.” He also said that he is not surprised that a country seemingly coming to an end because its government has “illegally abducted people and tortured them in secret prisons throughout the Middle East, that killed children, bombed weddings from Iraq to Afghanistan” would make such a decision.

Botenga further criticized how the US government is hindering free speech and questioned ”not why…the US [is] withdrawing from Human Rights conventions: The question is why is Europe not reacting?”

For the past seven years, the US has been caught in a cycle of uncertainty over its commitment to the UN Human Rights Council. This instability not only threatens diplomatic ties with key allies but also undermines the US’s commitment to promoting democracy.