United Nations Human Rights Council Accountability Act

Since its establishment in 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council has failed to meaningfully promote the protection of internationally recognized human rights.

The United Nations Human Rights Council suffers from fundamental and severe structural flaws since it draws its members from the United Nations General Assembly without any substantive membership criteria, with the perverse result that a number of the world’s worst human rights abusers are members of the council.

For example, more than half of the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council are rated “Not Free” or only “Partly Free” by Freedom House in its 2014 Freedom in the World report. Only a minority of members were rated “Free”.

Current membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council includes some of the world’s worst violators, including China, Congo, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Vietnam, and others.

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s agenda contains a permanent item for criticism of the democratic, Jewish State of Israel, but no permanent items criticizing any other state or non-state actor.

Since 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council has a largely disproportionate number of resolutions focused on criticizing Israel.

Since 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council has held 22 special sessions to address dire and critical humanitarian crises throughout the world, with 7 focused on criticizing Israel, more than any other two nations combined, despite the fact that the United Nations currently has declared four of the world’s humanitarian crises (Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and the Central African Republic) a “Level 3”, its highest designation.

On July 23, 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution to investigate purported violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in Gaza and the West Bank. The resolution contained over 1,700 words criticizing Israel for supposed human rights violations in Gaza, yet does not mention Hamas, the designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for using Palestinian children, women, and men as human shields and launching thousands of rockets indiscriminately into Israeli civilian populations, even once.

The July 23, 2014, resolution passed with 29 votes in favor, 17 abstentions and the United States as the lone dissenting vote.

On August 11, 2014, the United Nations named Professor William Schabas to lead a panel of inquiry in accordance to the July 23, 2014, resolution.

Schabas has made public statements in the past that should have precluded him from heading the panel as an unbiased participant, and should recuse himself. Among his incendiary and biased remarks, Schabas has stated “Actually, my favourite would be Netanyahu within the dock of the International Criminal Court,” in 2012, indicating a clear conflict of interests and lack of impartiality.

In 2006, the George W. Bush Administration voted against the resolution that created the United Nations Human Rights Council in the United Nations General Assembly over concerns about the Council’s reforms and its ability to advocate for human rights and decided to not seek a seat on the Council.

In June 2008, citing its skepticism regarding the function of the United Nations Human Rights Council in terms of fulfilling its mandate and its imbalanced approach and Israel bashing agenda, the Bush Administration announced it would limit its engagement with the Council.

In 2008, the Bush Administration announced it would withhold United States funding to the United Nations regular budget equivalent to the United States share of the United Nations Human Rights Council budget.

In March 2009, reversing the previous Administration’s policy, the Obama Administration announced that the United States would run for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and won a seat in May 2009.

United States membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council has not led to reform of its fundamental flaws nor diminished the Council’s virulently anti-Israel behavior. The Council has passed over two dozen resolutions criticizing Israel since the United States joined in 2009, and the world’s worst violators continue to get a pass.

In general— For each and every fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, until the Secretary of State submits to Congress a certification for such fiscal year that the requirements described in subsection (b) have been satisfied—

Certification— The certification referred to in subsection (a) is a certification of the Secretary of State to Congress that—

Special procedures— For each and every fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall withhold from a United States contribution for such fiscal year to the regular budget of the United Nations an amount that is equal to the percentage of such contribution that the Secretary determines would be allocated by the United Nations to support the United Nations “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”, and any other United Nations Human Rights Council “Special Procedures” used to display bias against the United States or the State of Israel or to provide support for any United Nations Member State that—

Reversion of funds— Funds appropriated for use as a United States contribution to the United Nations but withheld from obligation and expenditure pursuant to this section shall immediately revert to the United States Treasury and shall not be considered arrears to be repaid to any United Nations entity.