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US envoy blasts UN rights chief Volker Türk during reappointment vote
Ambassador Jeff Bartos accused the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights of condemning democracies while failing to confront abuses by authoritarian regimes, declaring that he had guided the U.N. human rights system “to its deathbed.” (UNTV)
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France’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva launched a verbal attack against the U.S. following a contentious vote to give U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk another four-year term, accusing Washington of abandoning its role as a global human rights leader
“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the official French mission account posted on XSaturday. “Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it.”
The mission added the hashtag “#AmericaAlone.”
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High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a press conference at the UN Offices in Geneva on December 9, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz fired back, accusing France of using the attack to distract from its support for Türk
“It is disappointing — though not surprising — that this is how France deflects on its shameful vote to coddle some of the worst human rights abusers,” Waltz wrote on X. “France voted 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.”
During the vote by Ambassador Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform, declared that the U.N. human rights system “has been losing credibility for decades.”
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United States Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz testifies during a House Foreign Affairs hearing titled “United Nations Accountability and Reform” in the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc
“Mr. Türk has guided it to its deathbed,” Bartos said. “And if you vote to reappoint
Volker Türk for a four-year term, it will kick the bucket.”
Bartos accused Türk of disproportionately condemning democracies while failing to respond adequately to abuses committed by authoritarian governments
He said Türk had criticized the United States, Britain, France, Australia, Italy and, more than any other country, Israel. Bartos also accused Türk of remaining silent for 12 days after the Iranian government allegedly began a new wave of violence against its citizens, while quickly condemning U.S. military action against Iran
Bartos further criticized Türk’s office for calling on Washington to lift sanctions on Cuba, maintaining what he called a discriminatory database targeting American companies and enabling the U.N.’s “anti-Israel machinery.”
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UN Human Rights Council President Jurg Lauber, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stand for a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of human rights violations, at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Feb. 24, 2025.(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP
France’s U.N. Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont offered a sharply different assessment during the General Assembly debate, saying Türk had demonstrated “rigor and impartiality” during a first term marked by growing attacks on multilateral institutions and the universality of human rights
“He has been a voice of conscience, confronting states with reality and their responsibilities,” Bonnafont said
An official familiar with the U.S. position told Fox News Digital on background that American officials were surprised by France’s “brazen” public attack and rejected the suggestion that opposing one U.N. official’s reappointment amounted to opposing human rights
The official said Washington and other delegations were also caught off guard by the expedited vote because Türk’s current term does not expire until Oct. 11
The United States sought to postpone consideration for one week to allow additional consultations, but member states rejected the request. The General Assembly then approved Türk’s reappointment by a vote of 144-10, with 13 abstentions, extending his tenure from Oct. 12, 2026, through Oct. 11, 2030
The assembly also rejected a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term only through the end of 2026, which would have allowed the next U.N. secretary-general to participate in selecting the human rights chief
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France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, right, greets U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting with partner countries in Cernay-la-Ville outside Paris, France, Friday, March 27, 2026. /Michel Euler)(Michel Euler/
France’s post grouped Washington with authoritarian governments that also opposed Türk, but did not address whether those countries voted against his reappointment for the same reasons. The U.S. said its opposition reflected both concerns about Türk’s record and objections to the accelerated process
UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog, published a 2024 analysis of public statements initiated by Türk or his office between Oct. 17, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2024
The organization concluded that Türk criticized the United States more frequently than China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined. It also said it found no self-initiated criticism during that period concerning abuses by Cuba, North Korea, Algeria, Eritrea, Mauritania, Lebanon or Qatar
UN Watch’s methodology excluded statements required by the Human Rights Council, comments in mandated reports, broad updates to the council and other remarks that were not initiated at Türk’s discretion. Its findings therefore do not encompass every country reference, report or action by Türk’s office
UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer called the renewal “rushed and unprecedented” and said it was “unseemly” for French President Emmanuel Macron’s government to attack the United States while celebrating Türk’s reappointment
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, responded more bluntly
“Perhaps show some gratitude instead?” Gardiner wrote on X. “The French owe their very existence as a sovereign nation to The United States.”
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Türk’s supporters argue that his willingness to criticize powerful democracies is part of his responsibility to apply human rights standards universally. France and the European Union maintained that he had performed his duties objectively and that Secretary-General António Guterres acted within the rules allowing a high commissioner to serve a second four-year term
Türk is set to become the first U.N. human rights chief to serve two complete four-year terms since the position was established in 1993
