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US to rejoin UN Human Rights Council, reversing Trump's withdrawal
[JPost] Obama V2.0 The new Biden administration will announce this week that it will rejoin with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR), after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from it almost three years ago, US officials said Sunday, the Associated Press (AP) reported. According to the AP, US officials said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior US diplomat in Geneva will announce on Monday that Washington will return to the Geneva-based body as an observer with an eye toward the goal of seeking election as a full member. The decision is likely to draw criticism from conservative lawmakers and many in the pro-Israel community as Trump's withdrawal from the body in 2018 was praised, over the UNHCR's biased treatment of Israel and its longtime failure to address serious abuses throughout the world. "For too long the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias," former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said at the time. The council damages the very cause of human rights, she noted, and also pointed out the long-standing issue of anti-Israel bias. Israel is "singled out in a way that no other country is singled out," she added. Related: UN Human Rights Council: 2020-10-14 China, Cuba, Pakistan elected to UNHRC UN Human Rights Council: 2020-09-19 Rape, ethnic cleansing and looting: UN reveals Turkey's crimes in Syria UN Human Rights Council: 2020-09-14 Switzerland: Draft anti-terrorism law sets ‘dangerous precedent', rights experts warn Posted by: Frank G 2021-02-08 |
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