US envoy quits UN Security Council meeting to protest France comments

The United States staged a rare walkout from a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, protesting remarks made by France's ambassador. The US delegation cited "disingenuous grandstanding" by Paris after the French envoy criticized the US stance on human rights votes, drawing parallels with authoritarian states.

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There is a member of this council that will feign moral outrage and pretend to lecture the rest of us about every topic, whether it’s about the very conflict we’re discussing yet again today, or even those unrelated to international peace and security, like human rights.

Dan Negrea, an alternate US representative to the General Assembly, expressed frustration with what he described as "feigned moral outrage" from a council member lecturing others on various topics, including human rights. "That is why we walked out during France’s intervention" at the meeting, which was primarily focused on the war in Ukraine. Such a departure from a Security Council session, the UN's most powerful decision-making body where both nations hold veto power, is highly unusual.

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That is why we walked out during France’s intervention.

The incident follows a vote on Friday in the General Assembly where the US joined ten other countries, including North Korea and Russia, in voting against extending the term of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. France's mission to the UN in Geneva reacted sharply to this vote, posting on social media that the US "stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it."

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The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore.

Responding to the walkout, Negrea asserted, "The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore." He added, "I remind them that it is the United States that remains the beacon of liberty for the world. As such, we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel." French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont defended France's actions at the UN, emphasizing its role in preserving the institution's independence and its capacity to act in service of the UN charter, human rights, and peace.

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I remind them that it is the United States that remains the beacon of liberty for the world. As such, we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel.