March 18, 2013

Statement by US Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe during Item 7 General Debate at the Human Rights Council

http://geneva.usmission.gov/2013/03/18/24574/

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The Obama administration is in full spin mode as the U.S. UN Mission in Geneva (a) circulates the statement of its Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, March 15, (b) entitles it "US remains extremely troubled by HRC's continued biased and disproportionate focus on Israel," and (c) the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations widely circulates it as a courageous defense of Israel. Did anyone bother to read it? It includes: "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. The absurdity and hypocrisy of this agenda item is further amplified by the resolutions brought under it including, yet again, a resolution on the "human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan" motivated by the Syrian regime, at a time when that regime is murdering its own citizens by the tens of thousands. The United States implores Council members to eliminate these biased resolutions and permanent agenda item seven." First, the legitimacy of the Council is not just "in question." The illegitimacy of the Council is so definitive that the state of Israel refuses to participate period and asked the United States not to become a member and legitimize the Council by belonging. Second, the Obama administration itself is one of the primary forces behind the legitimization of the Council. On opening day of this latest session, U.S. Assistant Secretary Esther Brimmer went out of her way to label the Council's achievements as "impressive" and pledge continued administration support. The lamentation of 'bias against Israel' is a throw-away line, given the tremendous boost the Council gets from U.S. membership in terms of credibility and $$. Third, the plea to Council members to change the bias against Israel is meaningless. The Council majority and the majority of the General Assembly have already refused categorically to change the Council's biased agenda, and the administration has not, and will not, take any action whatsoever in response. Refusing to run for a second term would have been the obvious bargaining chip. Resigning would be the only other principled option but it isn't on the table.