Nations defend UN rights council after US pullout

GENEVA: Diplomats from across the globe defended the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday after the United States withdrew from a body it branded an anti-Israel "cesspool".

Slovenian ambassador Vojislav Suc, who currently holds the council´s rotating presidency and has been pushing a faltering reform drive, described the Geneva-based chamber as the best place to trigger action on dangerous rights crises.

"Let me say it very clearly, if human rights issues are not discussed here, in this very room, they have little chance to be dealt with meaningfully anywhere else," he told the council´s 38th session, hours after Washington announced its pullout.

Suc further praised the 47-member council as the "only intergovernmental body responding to human rights issues and situations worldwide."

The council confirmed Wednesday evening that it had received a formal notification from Washington of the resignation of its membership.

"Action will now be taken by the UN General Assembly to elect a new member to replace the United States for the remainder of its term," which had been set to expire next year, the council said in a statement.

China, which has on multiple occasions voiced support for multilateral institutions abandoned by US President Donald Trump, portrayed the council as "a major body... to promote the realisation of human rights".

"All delegations attach great importance to this body," said Chinese ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yu Jianhua.

China currently sits on the council and rights groups have repeatedly criticised Beijing for seeking to stifle criticism of its own conduct.