House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast and Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch warn UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres against creating a new investigatory body targeting Israel.
Senior US lawmakers have issued a stark warning to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over efforts to establish yet another investigatory mechanism targeting Israel, cautioning that such actions could lead to sanctions.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to Guterres on Monday, condemning the UN’s bias against Israel and urging him to block any new probe.
The warning comes ahead of a scheduled UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) vote this week on a resolution that could create an open-ended investigative mechanism focusing solely on Israel.
“This is part of a concerning and insidious anti-Israel trend within the United Nations, specifically as relates to the HRC, and appears to be little more than a bare-faced attempt to prop up other anti-Israel action at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ),” Mast and Risch wrote.
The lawmakers made it clear that any attempt to push forward such a mechanism would not go unanswered by the US government.
“Make no mistake, any HRC member state or UN entity that supports an Israel-specific international investigative mechanism in any form will face the same consequences as the ICC faced for its blatant overreach and disregard for sovereign prerogatives,” they warned.
The letter highlights longstanding concerns over the UN Human Rights Council’s disproportionate focus on Israel. The lawmakers pointed to Agenda Item 7, which permanently singles out Israel for scrutiny, making it the only country with a dedicated agenda item at the Council.
“Already, Israel is the only country for which the HRC has established an entire agenda item dedicated solely to its existence,” the letter stated.
The lawmakers also criticized the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI) established by the UN to investigate alleged human rights violations by Israel. They noted that this body has expanded its mandate to include examining military support to Israel, which they claim is a blatant attempt to delegitimize the Jewish state.
“This one-sided focus on Israel undermines the legitimate and genuine threat posed by real human rights abusers,” the letter argued. “This includes the Hamas terrorists who continue to hold dozens of hostages like American Edan Alexander.” Both lawmakers emphasized that any effort to establish another investigative mechanism would further erode the credibility of the UN in the eyes of the American people.
“It is imperative that the Council act judiciously given its credibility in the eyes of the American people is quickly declining,” they cautioned.
