UNITED NATIONS — American diplomats made a dramatic exit from a United Nations Security Council meeting Monday, leaving the room while French representatives were speaking after France took aim at the Trump administration’s stance on human rights.
The unexpected departure came during a Security Council session focused on Ukraine. It followed the U.S. government’s failed effort to block a second four-year term for U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk. The General Assembly voted 144 to 10 — with 13 abstentions — to reappoint Türk on Friday, with France among those voting in favor and the U.S. casting one of the opposing votes.
The walkout signals not only deteriorating relations between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, but also a broader rift between Washington and European capitals. Underlying tensions include questions about Trump’s dedication to NATO, potential shifts in U.S. military presence in Europe, and Trump’s stated interest in acquiring Greenland, which is part of NATO ally Denmark.
Trump has expressed frustration that European nations — who were not consulted — did not assist the U.S. during the Iran war. Against this backdrop, Macron has taken a leading role in strengthening Europe’s own defense capabilities and ensuring a nuclear security umbrella, as France is one of only two nuclear-armed nations on the continent, alongside Britain.
Following Monday’s brief walkout, deputy U.S. ambassador Dan Negrea lashed out at France, accusing the country of performing “moral outrage” and positioning itself as a global authority on issues including human rights.
Negrea said the United States has stood beside France in every conflict where its “freedom has been imperiled” and put up with its grandstanding “out of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect” — but said that patience has now run out.
The incident was triggered by a social media post France’s U.N. Mission in Geneva published Friday, criticizing the U.S. for opposing Türk’s reappointment. The post read: “The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it.”
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, fired back on X, accusing France of protecting “some of the worst human rights abusers” and voting “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.”
The role of U.N. human rights chief is inherently challenging, as it requires publicly calling out rights violations by the very governments that make up the world body’s membership. Türk, for example, has strongly condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He has also called for a “massive rethink” of U.S. immigration policy ahead of the World Cup, raising concerns about “racial profiling, surveillance and immigration enforcement.”
Back at Monday’s council session, Negrea directed pointed remarks at France: “Today, 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 until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric and behave in a manner commensurate with their seat on this council.”
France’s U.N. Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont did not acknowledge the walkout when given time to respond at the close of the meeting. He instead pointed to France’s historical role in helping the United States win its independence and noted French participation in the July 4th celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
“The United Nations was created with the goal of working towards international peace and security, human rights and development,” Bonnafont said. “All of that forms the spirit in which France works within the United Nations … to preserve this institution, its independence, its ability to act in service of the charter and act to serve human rights and peace.”
