The United Nations doesn't exactly have the best reputation, including when it comes to its treatment of Israel. We covered some of the problematic responses from the body, particularly the UN Women's account, in the aftermath of Hamas' attack on Israel over the weekend. October 7 was the bloodiest day in Israel's history, and more Jewish people died since the end of the Holocaust. The UN also has a nasty habit of allowing some pretty problematic countries to serve on its so-called Human Rights Council (HRC), as we've seen in the past, but also just earlier this week.
On Tuesday, the UN announced which countries which serve on the HRC for 2024-2026, including Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundoi, China, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japa, Kuwait, Malawi, and Netherlands.
The @UN🇺🇳 General Assembly has elected 15 members of the Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) for the term 2024-2026:
— United Nations Human Rights Council | 📍 #HRC54 (@UN_HRC) October 10, 2023
🇦🇱Albania
🇧🇷Brazil
🇧🇬Bulgaria
🇧🇮Burundi
🇨🇳China
🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire
🇨🇺Cuba
🇩🇴Dominican Republic
🇫🇷France
🇬🇭Ghana
🇮🇩Indonesia
🇯🇵Japan
🇰🇼Kuwait
🇲🇼Malawi
🇳🇱Netherlands pic.twitter.com/qM170esodD
The inclusion of China and Cuba drew particular ire, though others took to X to express concerns about Burundi, which is the poorest and one of the least developed countries in the world, as well as Malawai, another East African country.
Such a list of countries inspired Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to once more call out the body, as his press account reminded that he's also called for defunding the UN.
In March of this year, Roy introduced legislation known as the No taxpayer funding for United Nations Human Rights Council Act. This isn't the only UN body that the congressman has sought to defund. In February he had introduced The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Accountability and Transparency Act so as "to stop the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to this body with a rampant history of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda and activity." And in January he had introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for the United Nations Population Fund Act.
Roy has introduced such bills for years, with Townhall highlighting his fight to defund the United Nationals Population Fund (UNFPA) back in 2021. The pro-abortion UNFPA has been complicit in China's forced abortions through their One-Child and now Two-Child policy.
Such is just one of many reasons why China has no place being on the HRC, in addition to the genocide they've committed against the Uyghur population while they've placed them into camps.
And Cuba. A bad joke
— Ing Jorgito Cuban Tech 🐍🐊🇺🇸🇨🇺🇪🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@EPDPE_CU) October 10, 2023
More on Rep. Roy's effort to defund this corrupt organization⤵️https://t.co/9rGvI3akuR
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) October 10, 2023
Another post from that press office account also called out the lack of a proper response from the UN with regards to Hamas' attack on Israel over the weekend, as one more reason to be outraged over funding the UN.
On Monday, the HRC made the call to observe a moment of silence for lives lost, with the original post having very particular language.
"On Monday afternoon, the @UN Human Rights Council observed a moment of silence for the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere," it read, going with quite the problematic narrative.
A “Human Rights” organization that is acting like a friend to a terrorist organization is clearly out of line…
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) October 10, 2023
Why is the US government funding this?https://t.co/hXpolfs8We
On Monday afternoon, the @UN Human Rights Council observed a moment of silence for the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere.#HRC54 pic.twitter.com/9cgQDoQAyF
— United Nations Human Rights Council | 📍 #HRC54 (@UN_HRC) October 9, 2023
In the clip, Ambassador Zaman Mehdi, the deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN expressed "deep concerns about the loss of innocent lives in the occupied Palestnian Territory and elsewhere." He went on to make claims about "more than seven decades of illegal foreign occupation, aggression and disrespect for the international law, including UN SC resolutions." Still later, Mehdi went on to claim that "efforts to normalize and perpetuate illegal foreign occupation is breeding violence."
"There is a need for immediate steps to ensure the realization of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and also achieving a just state solution on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine," he went on to say. There was no mention in this clip about a "need for immediate steps" to call out Hamas terrorists for raping, kidnapping, torturing, and murdering civilians while also parading bodies around to be desecreated. Reports have even come in of babies being beheaded, though some in the mainstream media try to claim such accounts are false.
"We call on all parties to excerise restraint," Mehdi went on to say, going with the problematic narrative in which Israel would cease to exist if it went along with, "and honour the human rights obligations. In this context, the so-called declaration of war and attacks on civilian population and their properties is deeply disressing. We remain concerned about the human cost of the escalating situation."
It is not that the clip only referred to Palestnians, as Mehdi made time to reference Afghanistans suffering from an earthquake, although he couldn't be bothered to express concern for Israeli loss of life.
In calling for a one minute moment of silence, Mehdi still went with a narrative against Israel. "It is also an occasion to remember victims of decades of foreign occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory."
The video cuts off as it shows members complying with Mehdi to stand for that minute of silence.
In sharing the video, Guy held nothing back as he pointed out that the HRC is "packed with some of the worst abusers on earth," putting "Human rights" in scare quoted. He went on to call it "[a]n illegitimate farce of a body," and called to mind how then President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the HRC, "this embarrassment," though President Joe Biden "put us back in," providing us "no benefit, only humiliation." Guy wrote up his own VIP article about the video clip as well.
“Human rights” Council, packed with some of the worst abusers on earth. An illegitimate farce of a body. The Trump administration was 100% right to pull the US out of this embarrassment: Biden put us back in. There is no benefit, only humiliation. https://t.co/4Gm3fSoePS
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 9, 2023
On Monday we discussed the kind of content that the UN and UN Women's accounts posted to X from Saturday to Monday which included not only problematic narratives beyond the one mentioned above from Mehdi. There was also a prioritization of International Lesbian Day from Sunday, which involved the insistence that trans lesbians, in other words biological men, are lesbians too.
Although Iran was not among the list of countries mentioned above, they've still been legitimized by the UN and the HRC specifically. Back in May, Iran was given a leadership role when it comes to leading the body's "Social Forum." The Wall Street Journal has reported that Iran had a role in supporting Hamas' attack on Israel.
In addition to its overall anti-Israel sentiment as a body, the UN back in September not only gave a platform to Iran's President Raisi, which Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan called out the body for doing, they detained Erdan after he dared to walk out on Raisi's speech.
