The United Nations Human Rights Council should atone for its anti-Israel bias prior to Yom Kippur by abolishing its annual practice of condemning the Jewish state under Agenda Item 7, according to Israel’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar.
“On Wednesday, the Jewish people will observe Yom Kippur. During this period, we take the opportunity to self-reflect on the previous year and I believe it is vital for the Human Rights Council to do the same,” Eilon Shahar told the UNHRC on Tuesday, one day after it opened its 46th session in Geneva.
She listed the UNHRC’s actions against Israel in 2021. This included the passage of four resolutions condemning the Jewish state, more than were passed against any other country. The council also held a special session on Israel in May and voted for a fifth resolution, which established a permanent, first of its kind probe against the Jewish state. No other country is subject to such an open-ended investigation.
“Let us remember: This special session was called as Israel was under attack by Hamas, a terrorist organization,” Eilon Shahar said as she referenced the 11-day IDF-Hamas war in May.
The special session “resulted in a one-sided, biased resolution with a never-ending commission of inquiry, further deepening the double standards against my country,” Eilon Shahar said.
The UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Right Michele Bachelet also published four reports on Israel and issued 31 press releases together with the office of Special Procedures, the ambassador said.
“This is not scrutiny. This is a relentless obsession. It represents a black mark against this council,” she said.
“This year, the council has battled through COVID-19 and passed important resolutions in the field of women’s rights, persons of disabilities and girls’ education, amongst many others,” Eilon Shahar explained. “Yet what overshadows this vital work is the ongoing blatant bias against Israel at this council. If the council is to self-reflect, it should look to weed out this blatant bias, which undermines its work,” she said.
Eilon Shahar took issue in particular with the UNHRC mandate to debate alleged Israeli human rights abuses at each of the three sessions it holds on an annual basis. This debate is always held under Agenda Item 7. The alleged human rights abuses of all other countries are dealt with under Agenda Item 4. No other country has a standing agenda item specifically set aside to facilitate its condemnation. During this session the debate will be held on October 1.
Israel and the United States have pushed unsuccessfully for the UNHRC to abolish the sessions, a move that lacks affirmative majority support. Increasingly, however, most Western countries decline to take the floor during that debate.
“For this council to be truly credible, it needs to start by abolishing Item 7!” Eilon Shahar said.