Pictured Above: The U.N. Human Rights Council meeting room in Geneva. Credit: Ludovic Courtès via Wikimedia Commons.

(JNS.org) The U.S. is reportedly considering withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a body that has been accused of harboring deep anti-Israel bias and favoring countries with authoritarian governments.

According to the report, a former State Department official said the UNHRC’s anti-Israel bias is likely one of the reasons why the Trump administration may pull out.

"There’s been a series of requests coming from the secretary of state's office that suggests that he is questioning the value of the U.S. belonging to the Human Rights Council," the former official told Politico.

The report added that a final decision will require the involvement U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. 

The White House and Haley’s office did not comment on the report, and the U.S. is expected to fully participate in the UNHRC’s next session beginning this week.

When the UNHRC was established in 2006, former President George W. Bush refused a seat on the 47-member council. But when President Barack Obama took office in 2009, his administration decided to join the body and try change its behavior from within. Nevertheless, the UNHRC has continued to repeatedly target Israel, passing more resolutions condemning the Jewish state than any other country in the world, including human rights abusers such as Iran, Syria and North Korea.

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