At a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting, a bitter standoff unfolded between the United States and France, prompting Washington diplomats to stage a brief walkout. The move came after Paris voiced
its criticism of the Trump’s administration’s human rights record.
The US opposed giving UN human rights chief Volker Türk another four-year term during the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. Meanwhile, France backed the reappointment, according to the Associated Press.
The walkout by US diplomats reflects broader tensions between the US and its European allies, including France, that stems from President Donald Trump’s assertion of control over Greenland, which is controlled by NATO member Denmark. Moreover, Trump had also complained of lack of support from the NATO allies during America’s war with Iran.
However, it might be noted that the European allies were not consulted before the start of the West Asia conflict.
The feud also reflects sour relations between President Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, marked by personal comments, policy clashes over defense and trade, and public disagreements on global conflicts.
‘World No Longer Listens To US’
On Friday, France’s UN Mission in Geneva criticised the Trump’s administration’s opposition to giving another term to the U.N. rights chief. In a post on ‘X’, the French Mission wrote: “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”.
The General Assembly voted 144-10 with 13 abstentions in support of Türk. The US was among the “no” votes, the Associated Press reported.
The US Responds
Mike Waltz, the US Ambassador to the UN, slammed Türk and accused France for “someone who has been lecturing, free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”
Deputy US Ambassador Dan Negrea alleged that France was “pretending” to lecture the world about every subject, including human rights. He accused Paris feigning “moral outrage”.
Negrea said the US backed France in every conflict where its “freedom has been imperiled”, adding it tolerated its grandstanding “out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect”. But no more, he added.
