U.S. to Seek Seat on U.N. Human Rights Council

Kelsey McGalliard
4/2/2009
10:35 am


The Obama administration has decided to seek a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council. This action reverses the decision made by the Bush administration to shun the U.N.'s premier rights body to protest the repressive states among its membership. The United States announced it would stand as a candidate in elections May 15 to decide three seats on the 47-member council. Clinton and Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the decision was part of a broader push for "a new era of engagement" in U.S. foreign policy. "Human rights are an essential element of American global foreign policy," Clinton said in a statement. "With others, we will engage in the work of improving the U.N. human rights system to advance the vision of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights." "This is like getting on board the Titanic after it's hit the iceberg," said John R. Bolton, ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 and 2006 under President George W. Bush. "It legitimizes something that doesn't deserve legitimacy." Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the "decision surrenders the strongest leverage we have to force changes in the council." U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and human rights advocates welcomed Clinton's announcement, saying U.S. membership would help blunt the influence of some of the council's most repressive members.
I think that it is a good thing that the United States is joining the Human Rights Council. The United States is a huge power whether we like it or not and we are looked up to and backed by many countries. Our involvement will allow America to have a better chance to try to solve the problems across the world that we look past. For example when China passed their Human Rights Violation test which stated that they were on the right path and that there were not any problems, which is not the case. Hopefully the conservatives will realize that Human Rights is a Council that we need to place ourselves on and that it is our help they need.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/31/AR2009033104115.html