US to rejoin United Nations Human Rights Council, reversing Trump policy
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS INSTRUCTED THE STATE DEPARMENT “TO RE-ENGAGE IMMEDIATELY AND ROBUSTLY WITH THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL”
GENEVA/WASHINGTON: The US said on Monday it would return as an observer to the UN Human Rights Council, which it quit under the Trump administration, while seeking reforms of the “flawed body”.
“The UN Human Rights Council is flawed and needs reform, but walking away won’t fix it. The best way to improve the Council, so it can achieve its potential, is through robust and principled US leadership,” secretary of state Tony Blinken tweeted.
President Joe Biden has instructed the state deparment “to re-engage immediately and robustly with the UN Human Rights Council”, he said in a statement issued as the council held a meeting in Geneva.
China on Biden’s remarks Beijing on Monday chose to ignore President Biden’s comment that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “lacked a democratic bone in his body”, saying the two countries should focus on cooperation. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “President Xi Jinping has had many contacts with President Biden. Maintaining communication between China and the US at all levels is conducive to mutual understanding and to the development of bilateral relations.”
Trump lawyers blast trial In a brief filed on the eve of the Senate impeachment trial, Trump’s lawyers attacked the case on multiple grounds. In a hint at what course they would take, the lawyers called the trial “political theatre” by Democrats, whom they accused of exploiting for their own party’s gain the chaos and trauma of the riot at the US Capitol on January 6.