US to seek election to UN Human Rights Council: Blinken
Asserting that the Biden administration is placing democracy and human rights at the centre of its foreign policy, Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced on Wednesday that the US will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term, almost three years after it quit the UN’s top rights body.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the UN’s Human Rights Council in June 2018, describing it as a “hypocritical and self-serving organisation” that displayed “unending hostility towards Israel”.
The Geneva-based Human Rights Council is a 47-member inter-governmental body within the UN system tasked with upholding human rights.
On Wednesday, the top American diplomat, in his virtual address to the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council said he sought the support of all UN member states America’s bid to return to a seat in the inter-governmental body.
“The United States is placing democracy and human rights at the centre of our foreign policy, because they are essential for peace and stability. This commitment is firm and grounded in our own experience as a democracy – imperfect and often falling short of our own ideals, but striving always for a more inclusive, respectful, and free country,” Blinken said in his first address to the UNHRC.
“It’s for that reason that I’m pleased to announce the United States will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-24 term. We humbly ask for the support of all UN Member States in our bid to return to a seat in this body,” Blinken said.