US Returning To UN Human Rights Council As Observer

The US on Monday announced that it will re-engage with the UN Human Rights Council as an observer.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said former President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to leave the body "did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of U.S. leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage."

Former US State Secretary Mike Pompeo had accused the UN forum of having an "anti-Israel bias" and said that the "worst human rights offenders" were sitting in the council.

The US is returning as an observer because the council, which is based in Geneva, consists of 47 members, some of whom are elected each year in the UN General Assembly in New York.

"When it works well, the Human Rights Council shines a spotlight on countries with the worst human rights records and can serve as an important forum for those fighting injustice and tyranny," Blinken said in a statement.

"To address the Council's deficiencies and ensure it lives up to its mandate, the United States must be at the table using the full weight of our diplomatic leadership," he added.

First to welcome the US announcement was UK's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Julian Braithwaite.

"Just how important it is for members of the United Nations to engage in the Human Rights Council and how much stronger the organization can be with that full engagement [of the US]," Braithwaite said.

He also announced that the UK, together with the EU, has submitted a request for a special session on the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar, with the support of 19 additional council members.

"This is in response to the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar and the arbitrary detention of democratically elected politicians and civil society by the military. This has grave implications for human rights in the country," said the UK envoy.

*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington -