US walks out on France at UN meeting over ally's criticism of America's human rights record
US diplomats walked out during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Monday as their French counterparts were speaking, after France criticised the Trump administration's human rights record.
The walkout followed US opposition to a second four-year term for UN human rights chief Volker Turk. His reappointment on Friday received overwhelming support, including from France, while the US was among the countries that voted against it.
US deputy ambassador Dan Negrea accused France of feigning "moral outrage" and lecturing the world on human rights.
The United States has stood by France in every conflict where its "freedom has been imperiled" and tolerated its grandstanding "out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect," Negrea said, adding that this was no longer the case.
The move came after a social media post by France's UN Mission in Geneva criticised the US opposition to Turk's reappointment.
"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it," the French Mission said in the post.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz responded by accusing France of "coddling some of the worst human rights abusers" and supporting Turk, whom he said had lectured democratic countries while "cozying up to the world's worst oppressors".
Turk has criticised Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza and has also called for a "massive rethink" of US immigration policy, citing concerns over racial profiling, surveillance and immigration enforcement.
The walkout reflects growing tensions between the US and Europe, including questions over President Donald Trump's commitment to NATO, possible changes to US troop deployments in Europe and his desire to control Greenland, which belongs to NATO member Denmark.
Trump has also complained that European countries did not help the US during the Iran war. French President Emmanuel Macron has meanwhile pushed for greater European military cooperation and a nuclear deterrent.
France's UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont did not directly respond to the walkout. Instead, he highlighted the longstanding ties between the two countries and said France remained committed to the UN's goals of international peace and security, human rights and development.
