Pompeo slams UNHRC for holding vote on resolution regarding policing in US
Jun 20, 2020
Washington DC [USA], June 20 : The United States on Saturday slammed UN Human Rights Council for holding a vote on a resolution focusing on policing and race in the US, saying that the world body has once again reaffirmed the wisdom of Washington's decision to withdraw in 2018.
The UNHRC has long been and remains a haven for dictators and democracies that indulge them, said US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in a statement.
Pompeo said that if the council was serious about protecting human rights, "there are plenty of legitimate needs for its attention, such as the systemic racial disparities in places like Cuba, China and Iran".
"The United Nations Human Rights Council, now comprising Venezuela and recently, Cuba and China, has long been and remains a haven for dictators and democracies that indulge them," Pompeo said.
"It is a grave disappointment to those genuinely seeking to advance human dignity. Even so, the council's decision to vote yesterday on a resolution focusing on policing and race in the United States marks a new low," he said.
The statement comes in response to Friday's resolution, which denounced the killing of African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, and called on the UN high commissioner on human rights to prepare a report on "systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies" in the US, according to RT.
"The ongoing civic discourse about the tragic death of George Floyd in the US is a sign of our democracy's strength and maturity. Americans work through difficult societal problems openly, knowing their freedoms are protected by the Constitution and a strong rule of law," the statement read.
"We are serious about holding individuals and institutions accountable, and our democracy allows us to do so. The United States works every day with partners around the world who share our commitment to fundamental freedoms," it added.
Pompeo said that if the council were honest, it would recognise the strengths of American democracy and urge authoritarian regimes around the world to model American democracy and to hold their nations.
"If the council was honest, it would recognise the strengths of American democracy and urge authoritarian regimes around the world to model American democracy, and to hold their nations to the same high standards of accountability and transparency that we Americans apply to ourselves," the statement read.
