Israel follows US in declaring it 'will not participate' in UN Human Rights Council

Israel announced on Wednesday that it will no longer participate in the United Nations Human Rights Council, following a similar declaration from the United States the day before.

“Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC),” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a post on 𝕏. “Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC.”

Sa’ar said the council, despite claiming to protect human rights, has instead “protected human rights abusers.”

“This body has focused on attacking a democratic country and propagating antisemitism, instead of promoting human rights,” Sa’ar continued.

He also criticized the council for making Israel “the only country with an agenda item dedicated solely to it.”

The UNHRC’s Agenda Item 7, which the UN describes as “a permanent feature of the Council’s agenda,” directs the council to focus on the “human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.”

Sa’ar further stated in his post that “over 20% of all resolutions ever passed in the Council” have condemned Israel, which is “more than against Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela combined.”

“Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!” he concluded.

The statement from Israel comes after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday accusing “some of the UN’s agencies” of “attacking our allies and propagating anti-Semitism.”

The executive order declared that the United States “will not participate in the UNHRC.”

While Israel and the U.S. are not part of the UNHRC’s 47 member states, both have previously participated in an observer role.