The United States on Monday, July 27, 2026, walked out of a UN Security Council meeting as France’s ambassador took the floor, in a rare diplomatic protest over a dispute between the two countries on human rights.
The incident followed a Friday, July 24, 2026, General Assembly vote on extending Volker Türk’s tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The US was among 10 countries that opposed the extension, alongside North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua.
France’s UN mission in Geneva subsequently criticized Washington, saying the United States had lost its traditional standing as a champion of human rights and grouping it with countries including North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia.
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Dan Negrea, an alternate US representative to the General Assembly and senior US delegation official, responded during Monday’s Security Council session on Ukraine, accusing France of political grandstanding and confirming that the US delegation had left the chamber during the intervention of French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont.
The incident was notable because the United States and France are two of the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council.
Bonnafont responded by highlighting the historic ties between the two countries, noting that 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States.
He said France would continue working through the UN to uphold the organization’s independence, the UN Charter, human rights and international peace.
The confrontation marked an unusually public clash between two permanent members of the Security Council during a meeting on the war in Ukraine.