Letter to Hon. Tony Blinken, Secretary of State - Hoeven Urges Secretary Blinken to End the UNHRC's Commission of Inquiry on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict

Letter

Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, joined Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), in urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to prioritize reversing the UN Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) discriminatory and unwarranted treatment of Israel by leading a multinational effort to end the permanent Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. In the bipartisan letter, the senators highlight the commission as unfair, unwarranted and singling out Israel, further fueling anti-Semitism. With the United States returning as a member of the UNHRC earlier this year, the senators urge the secretary to use America's position to redirect resources from wasteful and biased investigations into Israel and instead focus on human rights crises around the world.

"We urge you to act upon the Administration's commitment to defend Israel from discriminatory treatment at the Human Rights Council and throughout the UN system," the senators wrote.

In addition to Hoeven, Portman and Cardin, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jim Risch (R-ID), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Thune (R-SD), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chris Coons (D-DE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Susan Collins (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Boozman (R-AR), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Margaret Hassan (D-NH), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Joni Enrst (R-IA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tim Scott (R-SC), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bob Casey (D-PA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Lee (R-UT), Raphael Warnock (R-GA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jon Tester (D-MT), Todd Young (R-IN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Mike Crapo (R-ID).