US diplomats walked out of a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday following an escalating spat with France over the United States' human rights record. The staged walkout took place during a meeting regarding the Ukraine-Russia war.
The conflict centers on the appointment of a top official, with France's UN Mission in Geneva criticizing the Trump administration's opposition to a second term for UN human rights chief Volker Türk. This friction follows a period where the Trump administration imposed sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, citing allegations of forced labor.
A U.S. official responded to the situation, stating that the United States will not be affording the French the benefit of listening to their politicized drivel until they renounce their condescending and disrespectful rhetoric.