The staged walkout, which occurred on Monday during a UN Security Council meeting on the Ukraine-Russia war, came days after the Trump administration cited \u201cforced labor\u201d allegations as it imposed sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics accused the US president of leaning on the claims as a \u201cconvenient\u201d<\/a> justification for the new duties, which were unveiled on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following day, the Trump administration criticized the credibility of the UN human rights system and opposed the reappointment of Volker T\u00fcrk, the UN human rights chief, prompting an extraordinary intervention on social media from France\u2019s UN mission in Geneva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,\u201d the French Geneva mission said in response<\/a>. \u201cToday, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c#AmericaAlone,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last March, T\u00fcrk said<\/a> he was \u201cdeeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction\u201d in the US. In June, T\u00fcrk took sharp aim at the Trump administration by calling for<\/a> \u201cprompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations\u201d into the deaths occurring in US government immigration custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the US, nine other countries voted no to T\u00fcrk\u2019s re-appointment, including Russia, North Korea, Israel, Nicaragua and Mali. His re-appointment was ultimately approved, with 144 countries including France, China and the UK in favor, while 13 countries abstained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to the French mission\u2019s post, the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, wrote on X on Sunday and said<\/a>: \u201cIt is disappointing \u2013 though not surprising \u2013 that this is how France deflects on its shameful vote to coddle some of the worst human rights abusers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrance voted for someone who has been lecturing, free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world\u2019s worst oppressors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US continued to criticize France during Monday\u2019s meeting, with Dan Negrea, the US deputy ambassador, claiming<\/a> that the US \u201cremains the beacon of liberty for the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs such, we will not be affording them the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric and behave in a manner commensurate with their seat on this council,\u201d said Negrea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n France\u2019s UN ambassador, J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bonnafont, did not mention the walkout, instead saying on Monday: \u201cThe United Nations was created to work towards international peace and security, human rights and development,\u201d the Associated Press\u00a0reports.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cAll of that forms the spirit in which France works within the United Nations \u2026 to preserve this institution, its independence, its ability to act in service of the charter and act to serve human rights and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US walkout came after Trump faced bipartisan criticism over his use of \u201cforced labor\u201d as \u201ca pretext\u201d for imposing controversial new tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on imports from more than 80 countries. Those include longstanding allies such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and the European Union, alongside Mexico, India and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Criticizing the tariffs, Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the House\u2019s Ways and Means committee,\u00a0said last week:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cForced labor is a real and pervasive problem in our supply chains and demands serious enforcement. It should never be cheapened into a pretext for a tariff policy built on dubious legal theories and personal grievances.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/246060233506d90eba1d507e89482c070c7ad4b5\/0_0_6556_5245\/master\/6556.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=22ea3cf66456d64a4ae6d92e116fc31f\")
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