According to the regulations of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, Israel—alone among the nations—must be discussed at every session. True to form, the council managed to pass three resolutions condemning the Jewish state last week. None of this should be surprising. What is noteworthy, writes Elliott Abrams, is the number of nations that voted against these resolutions:
One resolution called for Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights. That resolution got 25 votes, almost entirely from Muslim countries plus a few dictatorships like Cuba, Venezuela, and China. No European country voted yes. (Why Brazil, Peru, and Chile voted for it is a mystery, and when the U.S. State Department gets staffed up it might start pressuring them to change their votes.) [Thus], of the members of the council, 25 voted yes but 22 did not—displaying a good lack of enthusiasm for the proposal.
The other resolutions passed by higher margins: 27 in favor or 34 or 41, with 43 voting for “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” while only Australia and the United States voted no. . . . That any democracy should vote for that mendacious resolution is unpardonable. Those who did include Belgium, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. It includes phrases and conclusions that are simply false, such as reference to Israel’s “forcible transfer of Palestinians”—something that does not exist. . . .
Hats off to Australia, which has just joined the Human Rights Council for a three-year term and stood with the United States. The Australians have stated their “principled opposition” to singling out Israel, and said that they would vote against all [similar] resolutions. . . . Australia has similarly opposed one-sided resolutions in the General Assembly. It is shameful that the Aussies have not been joined by other democracies, but they deserve great credit for taking this stance the moment they joined the Human Rights Council.
Read more on Pressure Points: https://www.cfr.org/blog/counting-votes-un-human-rights-council