Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - The United States walked out of a UN Security Council meeting on Monday when France’s ambassador took the floor, protesting French comments comparing the US to North Korea and other authoritarian states regarding votes on human rights.
Dan Negrea, an alternate representative to the General
Assembly and a senior US delegation official, slammed what he called
“disingenuous grandstanding” by Paris.
“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 yet again today, or even those unrelated to international peace and
security, like human rights,” Negrea said.
“That is why
we walked out during France’s intervention” at the meeting, which focused on
the war in Ukraine.
Such a walkout from the Security Council, the UN’s highest
decision-making body where both France and the United States are veto-wielding
permanent members, is very rare.
On Friday, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote
in the General Assembly against extending Volker Turk’s term as UN high
commissioner for human rights, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia, and
Nicaragua, among others.
“The US used
to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” France’s mission to the United
Nations in Geneva posted after Friday’s vote. “Today, it stands alongside North
Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens
to it.”
In his remarks on Monday, Negrea said: “I remind them that it is the United
States that 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 Jerome Bonnafont responded to the US walkout, saying: “This year we
are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. And everyone knows
the role France has played in that.”
He added that France is working at the UN, both in the
Security Council and the General Assembly, “to preserve this institution, its
independence, and its capacity to act in service of the charter, in service of
human rights, and in service of peace.”
Watch the video below:
A rare diplomatic clash between the US and France has erupted at the UN Security Council. Washington walked out during a French speech after a dispute over the re-election of the UN human rights chief, sparking a public war of words between the allies. pic.twitter.com/UoscCp8Dar
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 28, 2026
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