U.S. Joins the Human Rights Council Posted by James Lamond

Yesterday, the United States was elected (in an uncontested election) to a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.  While the HRC has its flaws, this is a great step by the Obama administration for American leadership on international human rights issues.

The Human Rights Council has been a controversial organization since its creation, three years ago.  It was created in 2006, replacing the disgraced Human Rights Commission. The council has received a great deal of criticism for focusing its scrutiny on Israel and for not acting on the most pressing human rights issues of the time, including Darfur.  Critics also accuse the council for being hypocritical, since many of its members are human rights offenders themselves. So rather than help shape the organization from withing, the Bush administration chose to stay out of the council, making this America’s first time seeking a seat.

Despite the Obama administration’s membership, the HRC is still a flawed organization and we should not expect drastic immediate change, just because of U.S. membership. Vaclav Havel points out the many flaws in the organization a recent NY Times op-ed.   From human rights abusers maintaining seats to flawed electoral processes to governments trading votes on the HRC for other positions, the council’s original intent of protecting victims and confronting human rights abuses seems to have been put to the side.  These deep institutional flaws will make change and reform difficult.  The administration recognizes both the flaws in the organization and the challenges ahead. As Susan Rice earnestly says, “While we recognize that the Human Rights Council has been a flawed body that has not lived up to its potential, we are looking forward to working from within with a broad cross section of member states to strengthen and reform the council.”

While the organization is far from perfect, this is a good step in the right direction for promoting the international human rights agenda, reshaping the council and promoting American global leadership. Despite all the cries about the decline of American hegemony, the U.S. is still by far the most powerful country in the United Nations.  Its membership on the Human Rights Council can better shape the council towards its original intent.   As Don Kraus, CEO of Global Solutions, said,

"The U.S. has enormous resources and leadership capacities that we can use to make the Council a more effective institution. As a member of the organization, our priority must be to ensure that it lives up to the high standards upon which it was founded."

Critics of the HRC have many legitimate complaints.  But everyone agrees that the council needs to focus more of its original intention of protecting victims of human rights abuses. The best way to influence an organization and achieve this goal is by participating from within rather than critiquing from outside.

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