UK's Boris Johnson Defends UN Human Rights Body

FILE - In this June 1, 2018, file photo, children hold signs during a demonstration in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Miramar, Fla. The Trump administration's move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the U.S.-Mexico border has turned into a full-blown crisis in recent weeks, drawing denunciation from the United Nations, Roman Catholic bishops and countless humanitarian groups. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

GENEVA (AP) — British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has defended the U.N.’s main human rights body, alluding to signs the U.S. may withdraw from it over its alleged bias against Israel.

Speaking to the Human Rights Council, Johnson nonetheless said that its dedicated agenda item on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories was “disproportionate and damaging to the cause of peace.”

Johnson said: “But I stress that that does not mean that we in the U.K. are blind to the value of this council.”

Johnson said the council’s work on the Israel-Palestinian conflict could have value under the right conditions.

Diplomats have told The Associated Press that a U.S. withdrawal from the 47-member council could come as early as Tuesday.

Johnson’s address Monday focused on the need for education of women and girls worldwide as a way to promote human rights.

Categories / Civil Rights, Government, International, Politics

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