Russia calls out US ‘cynicism’ after UN rights council exit

Russia voices surprise at the US decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing Washington of “gross cynicism” and “disregard” for the world body.

“The US has once again brought a powerful blow to its own human rights reputation by demonstrating its disregard for the UN and its bodies,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova tells a briefing in Moscow.

She charged the US with “stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the existence of serious human rights problems at home while at the same time trying to shape the council under its own interests.”

She also criticized the US for “imposing a specific American understanding of human rights on other countries.”

Zakharova says the withdrawal was “unexpected” for Moscow although “a precedent was already set with UNESCO,” the UN’s Paris-based cultural body that Washington left in October last year.

“The UN Human Rights Council has worked effectively without the US in the past and we hope that it will continue to do so,” she adds.

— AFP