New Delhi: The US staged a rare walkout from a United Nations Security Council meeting as France addressed the chamber, escalating a diplomatic dispute over Washington’s opposition to extending the mandate of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The dramatic incident on Monday marked the latest sign of widening strains between the Trump administration and several of its closest European allies.
The confrontation stemmed from a UN General Assembly vote on Friday, in which 144 countries backed a second four-year term for Türk, whose first term was set to end 10 October. Only the US and nine other countries—including Russia, Israel, and North Korea—voted against the extension, while 13 abstained.
Washington had argued that the reappointment process lacked transparency and warned it could reconsider its funding and engagement with the UN human rights system. The dispute intensified after France’s UN mission criticised the US on social media for voting alongside authoritarian governments against the mandate extension.
“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it,” France’s UN mission wrote Thursday on X—ending its post with “#AmericaAlone”.
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, responded Friday on X, accusing France of voting for a human rights chief who had been “lecturing” democratic countries while “cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”
At Monday’s Security Council meeting on Ukraine, the US delegation walked out as France’s ambassador began speaking. After returning, Dan Negrea, the US Representative to the UN’s Economic and Social Council, accused France of “disingenuous grandstanding”.
As such, we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicised drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric and behave in a manner commensurate with their seat on this council,” Negrea remarked.
France, however, declined to escalate the exchange during the meeting. Its UN Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont did not directly address the walkout, and instead reaffirmed France’s commitment to the UN’s founding principles of peace, international cooperation, and the protection of human rights.
The disagreement also reflects ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and the UN. Washington has rolled back support for several UN bodies and has criticized Türk for what it says is disproportionate scrutiny of democratic countries, such as the US and Israel, while failing to hold authoritarian governments sufficiently accountable.
Although the dispute centered on the leadership of the UN human rights office, Monday’s public clash exposes deeper disagreements between Washington and European allies over the future of multilateral institutions and the international human rights system.
Kyra Menon is an intern with ThePrint
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Iran war: Pentagon separates July casualties from Op Epic Fury toll as wounded count jumps to 624