BICOM

The UK has issued a statement putting the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) “on notice” due to unprecedented bias against Israel, threatening to veto all future motions if the situation is left unchanged.

The UK’s rare condemnation follows last Friday’s passing of five motions by the UNHRC which singled out Israel for its policies towards the Palestinians, while ignoring other countries’ human rights violations.

A statement from the UK Mission to the UN said: “The persistence of bias, particularly the disproportionate volume of resolutions against Israel, undermines the Council’s credibility as the globally focused and objective international human rights body we all want and need.”

It added: “Israel is the only country permanently on the Human Rights Council’s agenda. Indeed, when the Council voted to include Israel as a permanent item in 2007 – the so-called agenda Item 7 – it was [then UN Secretary General] Ban Ki Moon who expressed his deep disappointment given the range and scope of allegations of human rights violations throughout the world.”

The UK backed two motions “according to long-standing policy” and “serious concerns” about Israel’s settlement policy, West Bank demolitions and use of administrative detention. However, it abstained on a further two motions and voted against one calling for the return of the Golan Heights to Syria.

The UK also reminded the council that “we must also recognise the continuing terrorism, incitement and violence that Israel faces. According to the Quartet’s report last year, there were 250 terrorist attacks, leading to the deaths of at least 30 Israelis. As long as terrorists are treated as martyrs, peace will prove distant”.

On Friday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Prime Minister Theresa May to offer his condolences following the terror attack in Westminster last Wednesday. He also hailed the important statement by the British representative at UNHRC, hoping it would encourage the international community to follow suit.

The US was one of two countries to vote against all of last Friday’s motions. Since the new administration in the US, new US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has specifically highlighted the biased resolutions against Israel at the UNHRC.

The UNHRC has issued a total of 135 resolutions against specific countries in its history, of which 68 have targeted the Jewish state, including five out of 10 in the latest session.