The United Nations consistently demonstrates an anti-Israel bias and is overly beholden to authoritarian regimes including China and Russia, according to testimony received during a House Oversight hearing on March 1.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield testified that the international body continually sought to place Israel at a disadvantage and favored actions that undermined Israeli security and sovereignty.
“The UN is replete with anti-Israel actions and bodies including disproportionate resolutions against Israel across the UN system,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The ambassador expressed particular frustration with the continued influence of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has explicitly compared Israel to the Nazi Third Reich, expressed support for Palestinian terrorist organizations, and claimed that Israel is solely an oppressive occupier rather than a sovereign nation with legitimate security concerns.
“We find her statements, her public stances, completely unacceptable,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “We have raised our concerns at the highest levels of the United Nations and we will continue to do that.”
“We have called on the UN to take actions against those individuals in the UN system who have shown a bias towards Israel, particularly in public statements.”
Likewise, the ambassador said that the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is supposed to settle disputes between states according to international law, had “not contributed” to the mission of establishing peace between Israel and Palestine.
“The ICJ does … in some particular situations [appear] to support justice,” Thomas-Greenfield said, “but not in this particular case.”
Among the many interrelated problems facing the UN, the ambassador said, was also the issue of the body’s apparent inability to adequately address human rights abuses.
To that end, she acknowledged that the UN Human Rights Council represented some of the world’s worst human rights offenders, who frequently used the body to block actions against themselves while weaponizing it against the United States.
“Countries who are human rights violators want to get on the council so they can block the actions of the council,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Clearly, the council is flawed.”
Among many human rights offenders, the Human Rights Council currently includes China’s communist regime, which the United States formally recognizes as being engaged in genocide against predominantly-Muslim ethnic minorities.
Likewise, China’s placement on the UN’s permanent five-member security council effectively renders the body incapable of pursuing justice on a number of issues, the ambassador said.
Still, she added, it was important for the United States to maintain its presence in the UN to prevent the total subversion of the body against the United States and its allies and partners.
“We are engaged in a strategic competition, especially with China, to ensure that the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights prevail,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Without our leadership, China, Russia, and others hope to shape the United Nations and, indeed, the world, in their authoritarian image.”
As such, the ambassador suggested that the United States seek to add additional permanent members including India and Japan to the security council.
Subcommittee Chair Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) expressed concern with the activities of the UN and its many failures, given that the United States is the world’s largest contributor to the UN and provides the body with more than $12 billion annually.
“This significant investment from the American taxpayer is not exempt and should not be exempt from the expectation that we see that U.S. interests are being advanced,” Diaz-Balart said.
“The American people want to see a United Nations that supports, not undermines, our security. And that our allies and partners also are not attacked or undermined by this institution.”
“Unfortunately the UN too often seriously fails there.”
Diaz-Balart condemned what he referred to as the UN’s “institutionalized anti-Israel bias” and said the Security Council was “paralyzed by Russia and China” which continued to engage in “flagrant violations of the UN Charter.”
Relatedly, Diaz-Balart questioned whether the Biden administration had the political will to assert itself at the UN and to champion American and democratic interests more broadly.
“This administration justified rejoining and re-engaging in the [human rights] council by promising that the United States would bring change,” Diaz-Balart said.
“The question before us is whether this administration has the political will to leverage our contributions and position to advance our interests and reform the UN to be more effective in achieving peace and security—a central tenant of the UN Charter.”
The Epoch Times has requested comment from the UN Secretary-General’s Office.