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Here’s What The UN Commissioner For Human Rights Had To Say About Separating Migrant Families

Erica Kam

Since the Trump administration’s new immigration policy has been separating children from their parents, people have been horrified at the cruel practices taking place at the border. Children are essentially detained in cages, their shelters are like prisons and an audio recording of children crying after being taken away from their parents has been making the rounds online. The situation is absolutely dire and largely considered a human rights crisis by the international community. 

The situation has sparked protests across the country, and prominent figures have been outspoken against the family separation. Now, another person has added their two cents: the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Al Hussein’s response to the Trump administration’s policy was very straightforward, and frankly, accurate: he referred to it as “child abuse” and a “cruel practice,” according to Bustle. He continued, “The thought that any State would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable.”

It’s unclear how much Al Hussein’s statement will impact the continuation of the policy. As Bustle points out, Trump has shown a general distaste for international relations, and likes to fall back on the argument of “putting America first,” even at the expense of relationships with allies like Canada.

Currently, the administration seem to stand by their policy: after Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the policy using the Bible, the backlash was brushed off by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as reporters looking for “more TV time.”

And this time, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had a similar response. She suggested that the UN was “show[ing] its hypocrisy” and also called the High Commissioner’s office “ignorant” for attempting to interfere in the United States’ control of their borders.

And it looks like Al Hussein’s comment may have been the last straw in rising tensions between the United States and the UN Human Rights Council. Bloomberg reports today that the US is planning to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council.

This decision, while coming right on the heels of Al Hussein’s statement, has actually been expected for some time, and not just because of the response to the “zero-tolerance” immigration policy. According to The Huffington Post, the US has accused the Human Rights Council before of being biased against Israel—just last month, the US and Australia were the only two countries to vote “no” when the council voted to probe killings in Gaza. The US has been a part of the Human Rights Council since 2009 (under Barack Obama’s first term as president), after a three-year boycott during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Bloomberg says that the UN had not been notified of the US’s plan for withdrawal. The official announcement will be made by Haley at the State Department at 5 p.m.

Erica Kam is the Life Editor at Her Campus. She oversees the life, career, and news verticals on the site, including academics, experience, high school, money, work, and Her20s coverage. Over her six years at Her Campus, Erica has served in various editorial roles on the national team, including as the previous Culture Editor and as an editorial intern. She has also interned at Bustle Digital Group, where she covered entertainment news for Bustle and Elite Daily. She graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Barnard College, where she was the senior editor of Columbia and Barnard’s Her Campus chapter and a deputy copy editor for The Columbia Spectator. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her dissecting K-pop music videos for easter eggs and rereading Jane Austen novels. She also loves exploring her home, the best city in the world — and if you think that's not NYC, she's willing to fight you on it.