UN rights body told to end focus on Israel as US mulls exit

BERLIN – The United States is calling on the U.N.'s top human rights body to drop its "obsession with Israel."

American envoy Erin Barclay told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday that "the United States' commitment to fundamental human rights is stronger than ever."

But Barclay, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, said Washington is considering its future engagement with the council "with an eye toward reform."

The Geneva-based body's regular rebuke of Israel has long been a particular source of irritation for both Republican and Democratic U.S. administrations.

The U.S. declined to seek a seat on the 47-member council when it was formed in 2006, citing skepticism about the membership of some authoritarian states.

It joined the council in 2009, after Barack Obama's election.