Israel scored a diplomatic achievement at the UN's Human Rights Council on Monday, when 22 members issued a statement censuring the Commission of Inquiry set up by the council in the wake of last year's Operation Guardian of the Walls, the results of which again demonstrated the UNHRC's anti-Israel bias.
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The statement lambasted the COI and denounced the fact that Israel is the only UN member state facing a permanent, open-ended UNHRC probe.
It was signed by Israel, the US, Britain, Austria, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Asvetini, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Northern Macedonia, the Netherlands, Palau, and Togo
"Today, the forces of morality and truth stood up against anti-Israel hypocrisy at the UNHRC. Thank you to the US for leading, and to the nations who joined today's clear statement: cancel the Commission of Inquiry born out of hate against Israel," Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted Monday.
Today, the forces of morality and truth stood up against anti-Israel hypocrisy at the @UN_HRC.
Thank you to my friend @SecBlinken and the U.S. for leading, and to the nations who joined today's clear statement: cancel the Commission of Inquiry born out of hate against Israel.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid
(@yairlapid) June 13, 2022
Head of the three-member COI Navanethem Pillay delivered a summary of the report to the 47-member council as part of the opening day of its 50th session in Geneva.
"The occupation must end," Pillay declared. "This includes, but is not limited to, the transfer of arms when there is a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations or abuses of international human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law."
She blamed Israel "acts of violence that serve to further fuel endless cycles of conflict on both sides" and said that the international community must "look at the overall narrative," noting that third-state parties "also have a responsibility" and can be culpable when it comes to violating international law.
The full and final version of the 18-page report, which made only a scant mention of Palestinian terrorism or the thousands of rockets fired at central and southern Israel during the 11-day conflict, is likely to be presented to the UN General Assembly late this year.
Today I delivered a joint statement on behalf of the United States and 21 countries expressing deep concern about the open-ended Commission of Inquiry. The nature of the COI is further demonstration of disproportionate treatment of Israel at the HRC.
https://t.co/iBCAK29riE pic.twitter.com/qQVePZLE8S
— Ambassador Michèle Taylor (@USAmbHRC) June 13, 2022
US Ambassador to the UN Michelle Taylor read out a statement against the report, saying that while "no one is above scrutiny and it is this Council's responsibility to promote and protect human rights the world over," the validity of the COI's "open-ended mandate with no sunset clause, end date or clear limitations," was questionable.
The nations opposing it, she said, "continue to believe that this long-standing disproportionate scrutiny should end, and that the Council should address all human rights concerns, regardless of country, in an even-handed manner.
"Regrettably, we are concerned that the Commission of Inquiry will further contribute to the polarization of a situation about which so many of us are concerned."
According to the Jerusalem Post, following the statement, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UNHRC Ibrahim Khraishi called for the UN to suspend the US's membership in the Human Rights Council.
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