WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration will announce this week that it will re-engage with the so-called UN Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew nearly three years ago, U.S. officials said Sunday . The decision reverses another departure from the Trump era of multilateral organizations and agreements.
WE. Officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior U.S. diplomat in Geneva will announce Monday that Washington will return to the Geneva-based body as an observer with the intention of seeking elections as a full member. The decision is likely to attract criticism from conservative lawmakers and many members of the pro-Israel community.
Trump withdrew from the world body’s top human rights agency in 2018 because of his disproportionate focus on Israel, which has received by far the largest number of critical council resolutions against any country, as well as the number of authoritarian countries among its members and because it failed to meet an extensive list of reforms demanded by the then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
In addition to the council’s persistent focus on Israel, the Trump administration argued with membership in the agency, which currently includes China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russia, and Venezuela, all accused of human rights abuses.
A senior US official said the Biden administration believed the council had yet to reform, but that the best way to promote change was to “get fundamentally involved”. The official said it could be “an important forum for those fighting tyranny and injustice around the world” and the US presence aims to “ensure it can live up to that potential.”
That official and three others familiar with the decision were not allowed to discuss the matter publicly before the announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although the United States will only have non-voting observer status on the board until the end of 2021, officials said the administration intends to seek one of three full-member seats – currently occupied by Austria, Denmark and Italy – from Western Europe and other group states ”that will run in the elections later this year.
The United Nations General Assembly makes the final decision in a vote that is generally held in October of each year to fill vacancies in three-year terms in the council of 47 member states.
The U.S. commitment to the council and its predecessor, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, has for decades been a form of political football between the Republican and Democratic administrations. While acknowledging their shortcomings, Democratic presidents have tended to want a seat at the table, while Republicans have backed down from their criticism of Israel.
Trump’s withdrawal from UNHCR, however, was one of the U.S.’s restrictions on the international community during his four-year term. He also distanced himself from the Paris Climate Agreement, Iran’s nuclear deal, the World Health Organization, the United Nations education and culture organization, UNESCO and several others. arms control treaties. Trump also threatened to withdraw from the International Postal Union and often hinted at the withdrawal of the World Trade Organization.
Since taking office last month, President Joe Biden has rejoined the Paris agreement and the WHO and expressed interest in returning to the agreement with Iran, as well as the UNESCO.
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Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.