Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

UN Chief Welcomes US Decision To Re-Engage With Human Rights Council

UN Chief Welcomes US Decision To Re-Engage With Human Rights Council

Under the Trump administration, the US had withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemning the "hypocrisy" of its members and its alleged "unrelenting bias" against Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the decision of the United States to re-engage with the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying the world organisation looks forward to hearing Washington's crucial voice across the Council's urgent work.

"The Human Rights Council is the world's leading forum for addressing the full range of human rights challenges. The Council's mechanisms and special procedures are vital tools for ensuring action and accountability," a statement issued by the UN Chief's spokesperson said Monday.

"The United Nations looks forward to hearing the crucial voice of the United States across the Council's urgent work," the statement said.

Under the Trump administration, the US had withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemning the "hypocrisy" of its members and its alleged "unrelenting bias" against Israel.

"As Secretary Blinken said, effective use of multilateral tools is an important part of the Biden administration's recommitment to a US foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality," the US Mission to the UN said in a statement Monday, adding that the "best way" to realise this commitment is through "our continued engagement with allies, partners, non-governmental organisations, civil society, and multilateral organisations, including within the UN system."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden has instructed the Department of State to reengage "immediately and robustly" with the UN Human Rights Council.

"We recognise that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership, and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel. However, our withdrawal in June 2018 did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of US leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage," Antony Blinken said.

The US Mission to the UN added that Washington recognises the UN Human Rights Council has its flaws, "but we also believe it can help promote fundamental freedoms around the world."

"The only way we can ensure the Human Rights Council fulfills this important mandate is by being at the table as an observer and working with our partners and allies in a principled fashion to make it better."

The Mission added that through Washington's leadership on the UN Security Council and by reengaging with the Human Rights Council, "the United States will continue to fight for global peace and security, and to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all."

Antony Blinken said in the immediate term, the United States will engage with the Council as an observer, and in that capacity will have the "opportunity to speak in the Council, participate in negotiations, and partner with others to introduce resolutions. It is our view that the best way to improve the Council is to engage with it and its members in a principled fashion. We strongly believe that when the United States engages constructively with the Council, in concert with our allies and friends, positive change is within reach."

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the Human Rights Council is a poor defender of human rights.

"Worse than that, the Human Rights Council has become an exercise in shameless hypocrisy - with many of the world's worst human rights abuses going ignored, and some of the world's most serious offenders sitting on the council itself," he had said as the US quit the Council.

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had said the Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.

She said she had made it clear to the Human Rights Council that the US will remain a part of it if essential reforms were achieved, reforms that were needed in order to make the council a serious advocate for human rights.

"Human rights abusers continue to serve on and be elected to the council. The world's most inhumane regimes continue to escape scrutiny, and the council continues politicising and scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in their ranks," she had said.

In remarks at the Human Rights Council Organisational Meeting in Geneva, US Charge d'Affaires Mark Cassayre said the Joe Biden administration "believes in a foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality...Effective use of multilateral tools is an important element of that vision."

Cassayre added that "while recognising the Council's flaws, we know that this body has the potential to be an important forum for those fighting tyranny and injustice around the world. By being present at the table, we seek to ensure it can live up to that potential."

The Human Rights Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2006. The Council is made of 47 Member States, which are elected by the majority of members of the General Assembly of the United Nations through a direct and secret ballot.

Members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×