Gavin Mortimer
Diplomatic relations between France and the USA are more strained than ever following a row at the United Nations.
The fallout began on Friday when the US was one of ten countries to vote against the renewal of Voker Turk as UN High Commissioner of Human Rights. They were in the minority. Turk, an Austrian, was reappointed by the General Assembly with 144 votes for and 13 abstentions.
In response to the vote, the French mission to the UN in Geneva posted a message on social media devoid of any diplomatic nuance. “The United States was once a beacon of human rights,” it began. “That is no longer the case. Today, they find themselves isolated alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia. And the world is no longer listening to them.” It added a hashtag: “America Alone.”
The taunt drew an angry response from Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN. On a post on X he accused France of coddling “some of the worst human rights abusers” and voting “for someone who has been lecturing free and sovereign democracies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, while getting closer to the world’s worst oppressors.”
