Unhrc

How UN ‘human rights experts’ became a tool of dictatorships - opinion

The corruption of the system did not happen overnight. As dictatorships gained influence inside the UNHRC, they learned they need not abolish the language of human rights to weaken it.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a news conference during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 24, 2026.
UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese attends press conference in Geneva

Francesca Albanese denounces 'toxic' attacks against her

An Afghan Taliban fighter sits on a tank near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces

UN rights chief says Taliban decree expands executions, deepens repression

A protester waves the pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flag outside UN headquarters during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran in New York on January 15, 2026.

'Nuremberg moment': UN Human Rights Council adopts motion for probe into Iran protest violence


White supremacy, neo-Nazism are transnational threat, Guterres tells UNHRC

"Today, these extremist movements represent the number one internal security threat in several countries," the UN head told the virtual meeting of the council, headquartered in Geneva.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan rally in support of Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, July 8, 2017

US boycotts fail to shake UNHRC’s anti-Israel bias

The UN as an organization has never found a formula that both allows for full democratic participation of all member states, while at the same time protecting against undue bias.

United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet adjusts her glasses during the opening of 45th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland September 14, 2020.

US rejoins UN Human Rights Council, reversing Trump's withdrawal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior US diplomat in Geneva announced on Monday that Washington has returned to the UN Human Rights Council as an observer.

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet makes a speech at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in February.

How will Israel deal with diverging viewpoints with Biden?

The challenge awaiting Jerusalem now is how to coordinate and work with a new administration that does not share the ‘no daylight’ approach of its predecessor.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021.

US pendulum swings back into the UN Human Rights Council - analysis

Republicans snub the UNHRC, which is fixated on Israel and gives cover to dictators. Democrats seek to reform it from the inside. Has either tactic worked?

The empty seat of Israel is pictured during a session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, 2019

UN Security Council must enforce settlement blacklist - UNHRC official

In February the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a list of 112 businesses which it concludes operate over the pre-1967 lines.

Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories, attends a session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 18, 2019

US slams election of abhorrent abusers to UNHRC after China gets seat

UN Watch director: Membership should be based on a nation’s human rights records, but rarely is

Overview of the Human Rights Council one day after the U.S. announced their withdraw at the United Nations in Geneva,

Rami Levy sues UN for defamation after placement on settlement 'blacklist'

While the UN has immunity in general, Shurat HaDin claims that this case is an exception as the UN violated its charter and practiced "pure racism on the basis of nationality and religion."

Israeli soldiers walk past Rami Levy chain store in the Israeli Sha'ar Binyamin Industrial Zone in the West Bank

UNHRC arms embargo call against Israel passes by only slim margin

Body approved the text by a 22-8 vote, with 17 abstentions

Overview of the Human Rights Council one day after the U.S. announced their withdraw at the United Nations in Geneva,

Pompeo accuses UN of hypocrisy after condemnation of US police brutality

"The United Nations Human Rights Council, now comprised of Venezuela and recently, Cuba and China, has long been and remains a haven for dictators and democracies that indulge them."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses a news conference at the State Department in Washington, US, April 7, 2020.