The UK today reiterated its condemnation of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) “disproportionate focus” on Israel, and voted against two resolutions that singled out the country.
In a statement released by the UK’s Mission to the UN Geneva, it was stated that “the disproportionate number of resolutions against Israel and the existence of a dedicated agenda item (“Item 7”) that singles out Israel does little to advance dialogue, stability or mutual understanding”.
The statement continued: “Last year, for these reasons, we placed this Council on notice. We said that if this disproportionate focus remained, we would adopt a policy of voting against resolutions concerning Israel and the Occupied Territories. Regrettably, we have seen very little change”.
For the first time, the statement said, the UK would be voting against the Accountability resolution, alongside the Syrian Golan Resolution, underlining that “unless things change, we will move to vote against all resolutions”.
It underlined that the vote against the Accountability resolution, “is a vote against the Council’s disproportionate focus on Israel”.
The Accountability resolution, which was sponsored by Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Jordan, Pakistan, Venezuela and the Palestinian Authority, calls upon states to halt the sale of any arms to Israel that could be used to violate international human rights.
The UK abstained on a Settlements resolution, with the UK expressing fears that a database of business that trade with settlements would “exacerbate tensions” and lead to the creation of a “de facto blacklist”.
In December 2017, at the UN General Assembly, Britain voted against a resolution calling on Israel to give the Golan Heights to Syria.
The UK Government in March last year delivered an unprecedented condemnation of the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) stance towards Israel, announcing that it would be putting the UN body “on notice” and will vote against every motion on the conflict unless it ends its “disproportion and bias” against the Jewish State.
Read the statement in full here.
