Israel is expected to boycott the U.N. Human Rights Council next week despite the United States urging its ally to show up for an examination of its record, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday.
The Jewish state is scheduled to be in the dock of the Geneva rights forum on Tuesday, January 29 as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, the council's regular scrutiny of all United Nations member states.
"They (Israeli officials) signaled that they want it postponed. It is very unlikely they will participate on the 29th," U.S. human rights ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe told reporters in Geneva.
"I'm fairly optimistic we will find a solution that does not undermine universality or cooperation. That is my hope."