As US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Michele Taylor stood speaking at the lectern at the UN Human Rights Committee on Wednesday, a number of representatives stood up and literally turned their backs on her, an unprecedented sign of opposition to certain US policies.
Taylor was speaking at the end of a two-day hearing as part of the Committee’s periodic country review of the US’s conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Geneva.
The representatives stark protest came days after Washington rejected a Russian-sponsored UN resolution calling for a humanitarian halt to Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza.
A number of Arab leaders had also previously registered their opposition to US policy by canceling their summit meeting with President Joe Biden that was scheduled to take place in Jordan after his meeting with PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
As all parties and the Palestinian residents of Gaza brace themselves for Israel’s announced ground assault on the territory to obliterate Hamas, Israel’s full on siege continues with more than 3,785 individuals dead and at least 12,493 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.