BREAKING: US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced the United States is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the body of bias against US ally Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable https://t.co/DU6AUmwYwM pic.twitter.com/VEHSOwDdp0

— CNN (@CNN) June 19, 2018

It's like The Handmaid's Tale is a real-time cautionary tale — the U.S. is leaving the U.N. Human Rights Council ...

The move (via the BBC) is being made, per Nikki Haley, because the Council is “biased” against poor Israel.

A huge chunk of Trump's staff is anti-Semitic, a huge chunk of his voters are beyond anti-Semitic in that they hope Israel is destroyed as a fulfillment of a prophesy in the Bible, but sticking together with the U.N. and continuing to be a moral leader on the world stage is not attractive to Trump because of Israel.

Right.

OutRight Action International said, in response to the catastrophic move:

The U.S. withdrawal from the Human Rights Council is symptomatic of overall US isolationism and a move away from multilateral diplomacy. This administration’s “America First” promise is rearing its head in every foreign and domestic policy decision, including this one.

While the US may see reasons for criticism of the Human Rights Council and advocate for reform, the institution has been the central international mechanism of accountability and justice for marginalized groups and people the world over. For many LGBTIQ people, the Human Rights Council and the United Nations as a whole are ports of last call when their own governments fail them.

Without a history of progress on LGBTIQ human rights at the Human Rights Council we would have no progress to speak of within the UN system today. Withdrawing from the Council sends a message to other countries that its acceptable to walk away from the system when it doesn’t suit you to be there. Imagine, what would happen if all countries walked away from the UN because of disagreements?

Investing in multilateralism is not just integral to preserving and progressing human rights, it is essential to promoting peace and security. OutRight believes in the international system and the integrity of the Human Rights Council. We look forward to continue working with everyone who share these values.