France apologizes for UN human rights criticism, averting diplomatic spat

Key facts

• France apologized for criticizing the U.S. human rights record.
• The criticism was made in a social media post on X in late July.
• The post questioned the U.S. commitment to human rights.
• Washington responded by walking out of a UN Security Council meeting.
• The apology may allow France's ambassador nominee, Aurelien Lechevallier, to be approved by the US.

France's mission to the United Nations in Geneva has issued an apology for a social media post that criticized the United States' human rights record, a move that had triggered a diplomatic dispute and potentially delayed the arrival of France's new ambassador in Washington. The apology, published on the mission's website, stated that the difference in views "concerned one vote, and not the defence of human rights."