Argentina withdraws from the UN Human Rights Council after not running for the next term

The government of President Javier Milei decided that Argentina will not present its candidacy to join the United Nations Human Rights Council, official sources confirmed. The measure responds to the strategy of the Executive to reduce to a minimum the participation in multilateral organizations that it considers irrelevant or contrary to the interests of the country.

The resolution, which had already been unofficially advanced, was transmitted to the Argentine representative at the UN, Francisco Tropepi, and later to Carlos Foradori, in charge of the mission in Geneva, where the organization's headquarters are located.

Criticism and reactions

The Human Rights Council, composed of 47 countries elected by the UN General Assembly, is mandated to examine human rights violations around the world. The organization Amnesty International questioned Milei's decision, asserting that Argentina will lose the opportunity to influence international debates.

In the Casa Rosada, however, officials interpret participation in this type of forum as driven more by an ideological agenda than by a genuine defense of fundamental rights. This stance had already been made clear last September, when Milei used his speech at the UN General Assembly to denounce the organization as a “leviathan” that promotes Agenda 2030 and other policies which, in his view, restrict the sovereignty of nations.

Background and tensions

The rift with the UN has deepened in recent months. In a recent report, the Council expressed concern over the temporary appointment of two Argentine Supreme Court judges by presidential decree, prompting a response from the government, which described the remark as interference in internal affairs.

This is not the first time a country has taken a similar step. In 2018, the United States, under the Trump Administration, withdrew from the Human Rights Council, arguing that the body showed a systematic bias against Israel. Subsequently, the Israeli government also left the space, denouncing attitudes it considered anti-Semitic.