There is an “unbalanced focus” on Israel by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Secretary of State John Kerry told its members.

“No one in this room can deny that there is an unbalanced focus on one democratic country,” Kerry said in an address to the council March 2 in Geneva.

“It must be said the HRC’s obsession with Israel actually risks undermining the credibility of the entire organization,” he added, citing the fact that only Israel is a permanent agenda item on the council’s schedule.

 “We will oppose any effort by any group or participant in the U.N. system to arbitrarily and regularly delegitimize or isolate Israel,” Kerry told the council. “When it comes to human rights no country on earth should be free from scrutiny, but neither should any country be subject to unfair or unfounded bias.”

During his speech, Kerry also denounced human rights abuses in Syria, North Korea and Ukraine. — jta