The U.S. State Department censured the U.N. Human Rights Council for a series of anti-Israel actions taken last week.
The council passed its annual Israel-focused Agenda Item 7 resolution, along with a resolution calling for an Israeli arms embargo, and approved a three-year extension of the mandate of Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, who has a long history of antisemitic remarks.
The council “consistently demonstrates virulently antisemitic bias against Israel, targeting it unfairly and disproportionately in council proceedings, through the Commission of Inquiry, and by its appointment of Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese,” a State Department spokesperson told JNS.
Washington ceased participating in the council in February “in part because of its obsessive and unjust targeting of Israel,” the Foggy Bottom spokesperson said.
The anti-Israel arms embargo resolution passed with minimal opposition, with only Czechia, Germany, Ethiopia and North Macedonia among the 47-member council voting against it.
The resolution requires the council-sponsored Commission of Inquiry to “report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual-use items to Israel, the occupying power, including those that have been used during the Israeli military operation in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, and to analyze the legal consequences of these transfers.”
Given the potentially broad interpretation of dual-use items—those with military and civilian applications—states and officials around the world, including Americans, could be at risk of criminal prosecution for conducting arms transfers and a range of other business with Israel under the resolution.
The Commission of Inquiry has faced extensive criticism for its membership selection, including those with documented histories of Jew-hatred, and its reporting to date, which has almost exclusively criticized Israel.
The commission’s mandate is to explore all causes and developments in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Under reportedly heavy pressure from the United States on the Palestinian Authority, a provision to create a perpetual mechanism “to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed by all parties” in Israel and Palestinian-controlled territories was removed before final passage.
The mechanism would have provided resources to prepare “case files in order to facilitate” what the document calls “fair and independent criminal proceedings” in courts around the world.
Before the resolution’s passage, the chairs of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a letter to António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, threatening that any U.N. member state or entity backing the mechanism could face U.S. sanctions.
“Make no mistake, any Human Rights Council member state or U.N. entity that supports an Israel-specific international investigative mechanism in any form will face the same consequences as the International Criminal Court faced for its blatant overreach and disregard for sovereign prerogatives,” they stated. “We urge you to take all action and to unequivocally reject the establishment of this open-ended mechanism at the Human Rights Council.”
The final wording of the resolution the council adopted still invites the U.N. General Assembly “to consider establishing” such a body.
“The inherently politicized Human Rights Council has protected human rights abusers and antisemitic terrorists, such as Hamas, by allowing them to use the organization to shield themselves from scrutiny,” the State Department spokesperson said.
“The annual resolution against Israel proposed by the Palestinian delegation and routinely passed by the Human Rights Council is another example of how the Human Rights Council demonstrates consistent bias against Israel, focusing on it unfairly and disproportionately in council proceedings,” the spokesperson added.