On June 19, 2018, the United States announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Haley and U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announced the decision at a joint press conference.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley recently called on President Biden not to return to the U.N. Human Rights Council. She warned on Twitter that if Biden rejoined the UNHRC, it would defeat the original purpose of the US to “protect human rights.
Haley said the UNHRC is already a council of dictatorships and the worst human rights abusers, a cesspool of political bias and human rights mendacity, and a controversial place to protect human rights abusers.
Another former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, has also called on the Biden Administration to reform the Human Rights Council before rejoining it. Otherwise, it would be insulting and offensive to persecuted people around the world who want to exercise their natural human rights and to human rights defenders who want to be supported. He said, “In its current composition and (development) direction, the UN Human Rights Council is not worthy of its name.”
The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006 and is composed of 47 countries from around the world, with member states serving three-year terms. In the year of its establishment, the United States refused to join because the organization allowed countries with poor human rights records to become members.
The United States joined the Human Rights Council in 2009 under the Obama administration. The Trump (Trump) administration withdrew from the Human Rights Council in 2018. Currently, the main members of the HRC include China, Russia, Cuba, Libya, Sudan and Venezuela, among others.
After his inauguration, Biden said he wanted to rejoin the Human Rights Council. He has told the media that the United States will rejoin the UN Human Rights Council in an effort to ensure that the body truly lives up to its values. So far, the Biden administration has not indicated whether the U.S. would ask for reform of the council before joining.
Critics have pointed out that the Human Rights Council routinely discusses and condemns countries like Israel while ignoring the obvious abuses of human rights in some countries.
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