France’s permanent mission to the UN has expressed regret over an online post criticising the United States’ commitment to human rights, following a dispute that has held up approval of France’s next ambassador to Washington.
A US State Department official told AFP on Saturday that Washington welcomed the statement, which the French mission published on Friday.
“We note and appreciate France’s statement and look forward to working together to further shared values and interests,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The French mission published its statement on Friday, saying it regretted the post on X.
“France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights,” it said.
“Public differences of opinion on one vote do not stand in the way of close dialogue with the United States, and do not call into question our historical alliance, nor our ability to work together to advance peace, stability and prosperity, including within multilateral forums.”
“US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore”
The dispute began after the United States voted against extending Volker Turk’s term as UN human rights chief at the UN General Assembly on July 24. It was one of 10 countries to oppose the extension, alongside North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua, among others.
“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore,” the French mission wrote on X after the vote.
The post prompted an immediate backlash from Washington. Days later, the US representative walked out of a UN Security Council meeting when France’s ambassador took the floor, in protest at the comments.
Washington has also held up approval of Aurelien Lechevallier, President Emmanuel Macron’s choice to replace Laurent Bili as France’s ambassador to the United States.
Lechevallier is currently French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot’s chief of staff.
