Waltz Blasts France Over Social Media Criticism of U.S. After UN Vote

France’s delegation to the United Nations in Geneva sharply criticized the United States after a heated vote extending U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s mandate for another four years, charging that Washington has stepped away from its traditional position as a leading defender of global human rights.

“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the French mission’s official X account wrote Saturday. “Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it.”

The post also included the pointed hashtag “#AmericaAlone.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz responded forcefully, arguing that France was trying to shift attention away from its own decision to back Türk’s reappointment.

“It is disappointing — though not surprising — that this is how France deflects on its shameful vote to coddle some of the worst human rights abusers,” Waltz posted on X. “France voted for someone who has been lecturing free, sovereign democracies like the United States, the UK, and Israel, while cozying up to the world’s worst oppressors.”

As the vote unfolded, Ambassador Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform, said the United Nations human rights apparatus “has been losing credibility for decades.”

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“Mr. Türk has guided it to its deathbed,” Bartos said. “And if you vote to reappoint Volker Türk for a four-year term, it will kick the bucket.”

Bartos accused Türk of disproportionately condemning democracies while failing to respond adequately to abuses committed by authoritarian governments.

He said Türk had criticized the United States, Britain, France, Australia, Italy and, more than any other country, Israel. Bartos also accused Türk of remaining silent for 12 days after the Iranian government allegedly began a new wave of violence against its citizens, while quickly condemning U.S. military action against Iran.

Bartos further criticized Türk’s office for calling on Washington to lift sanctions on Cuba, maintaining what he called a discriminatory database targeting American companies and enabling the U.N.’s “anti-Israel machinery.”

France’s U.N. Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont offered a sharply different assessment during the General Assembly debate, saying Türk had demonstrated “rigor and impartiality” during a first term marked by growing attacks on multilateral institutions and the universality of human rights.

“He has been a voice of conscience, confronting states with reality and their responsibilities,” Bonnafont said.

An official familiar with the U.S. position told INC News on background that American officials were surprised by France’s “brazen” public attack and rejected the suggestion that opposing one U.N. official’s reappointment amounted to opposing human rights.

The official said Washington and other delegations were also caught off guard by the expedited vote because Türk’s current term does not expire until Oct. 11.

The United States sought to postpone consideration for one week to allow additional consultations, but member states rejected the request. The General Assembly then approved Türk’s reappointment by a vote of 144-10, with 13 abstentions, extending his tenure from Oct. 12, 2026, through Oct. 11, 2030.

The assembly also rejected a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term only through the end of 2026, which would have allowed the next U.N. secretary-general to participate in selecting the human rights chief.

France’s post grouped Washington with authoritarian governments that also opposed Türk, but did not address whether those countries voted against his reappointment for the same reasons. The U.S. said its opposition reflected both concerns about Türk’s record and objections to the accelerated process.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog, published a 2024 analysis of public statements initiated by Türk or his office between Oct. 17, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2024.

The organization concluded that Türk criticized the United States more frequently than China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined. It also said it found no self-initiated criticism during that period concerning abuses by Cuba, North Korea, Algeria, Eritrea, Mauritania, Lebanon or Qatar.

UN Watch’s methodology excluded statements required by the Human Rights Council, comments in mandated reports, broad updates to the council and other remarks that were not initiated at Türk’s discretion. Its findings therefore do not encompass every country reference, report or action by Türk’s office.

UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer called the renewal “rushed and unprecedented” and said it was “unseemly” for French President Emmanuel Macron’s government to attack the United States while celebrating Türk’s reappointment.

Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, responded more bluntly.

“Perhaps show some gratitude instead?” Gardiner wrote on X. “The French owe their very existence as a sovereign nation to The United States.”

Türk’s supporters argue that his willingness to criticize powerful democracies is part of his responsibility to apply human rights standards universally. France and the European Union maintained that he had performed his duties objectively and that Secretary-General António Guterres acted within the rules allowing a high commissioner to serve a second four-year term.

Türk is set to become the first U.N. human rights chief to serve two complete four-year terms since the position was established in 1993.