Today, Dean Phillips partnered with Brian Fitzpatrick and 47 other congressional representatives to advocate for greater objectivity in the United Nations’ investigations of alleged human rights violations in Israel and Palestine.  In a letter to the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Phillips advocated to reduce or eliminate funding for the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel (COI).  President Biden has said that the COI “does nothing to establish conditions of peace,” noting that the investigative body’s work is “open ended and biased,” and the U.S. State Department has criticized its anti-Israel bias and called to reform its funding.   

Representative Phillips emphasized that, while the COI is a deeply flawed entity, he remains a steadfast supporter of both human rights and the United Nations.  Phillips said that “anyone who violates human rights should be held accountable – that is as true for Israel as it is every other country.  The problem is that the COI is the wrong tool for the job.  It plays politics with one of the most important issues the UN covers and is a distraction from the UNHRC’s crucial role promoting human rights around the globe.”