The United States delegation walked out of a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday in protest as France’s ambassador began his address, following a diplomatic row over comments comparing the US to countries accused of poor human rights records.
The rare walkout occurred during a Security Council session on the war in Ukraine, after French officials criticized Washington’s recent voting record on human rights at the UN.
Dan Negrea, an alternate representative to the UN General Assembly and senior US delegation official, said the decision to leave the chamber was in response to what he described as France’s repeated attempts to lecture other nations.
“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 today or issues unrelated to international peace and security, such as human rights,” Negrea said.
“That is why we walked out during France’s intervention.”
Walkouts involving permanent members of the Security Council are uncommon. Both the United States and France hold permanent seats on the 15-member council and possess veto powers.
The diplomatic dispute follows a vote in the UN General Assembly on Friday, when the United States was among 10 countries that opposed extending the term of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. Other countries that voted against the extension included North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua.
Reacting to the vote, France’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva wrote on social media that the United States had lost its standing as a global leader on human rights.
“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it,” the mission said.
Responding to the criticism, Negrea defended Washington’s global role, saying, “The United States 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 Jérôme Bonnafont dismissed the US protest, noting the long-standing relationship between the two countries.
“This year we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, and everyone knows the role France has played in that,” Bonnafont said.
He added that France would continue working within both the Security Council and the General Assembly to preserve the United Nations’ independence and its ability to uphold the UN Charter, human rights and international peace.