US re-engages with UN Human Rights Council as ‘observer’

“When we work closely with our allies and friends, we can call on countries with the worst human rights records to report to @UN Human Rights Council,” Blinken said in a tweet Monday morning. “American leadership matters.”

The United States has not engaged with the advice of President George W. Bush, although the Obama administration has worked with the advice. Every US administration since the inception of the Council has criticized the Council’s positions on Israel, including demands for the nation’s withdrawal from Palestinian territories.

Blinken said in the statement that the council can work to promote the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups, as well as the freedoms of speech and assembly.

“We recognize that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, which needs to reform its agenda, its membership and its priorities, including its disproportionate focus on Israel,” Blinken said in a statement on Monday. morning. “However, our withdrawal in June 2018 did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but rather created a vacuum of American leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage.