[hr-council] United States to seek a seat on Human Rights Council
HREA
31 March 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the
announcement by the United States that it will seek a seat on the United
Nations Human Rights Council, saying it embodies the country’s
commitment to a “new era of engagement.”
“The
Human Rights Council has a critical role to play in the protection and
promotion of all human rights for all people, and the US has an important
contribution to make to this end,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said
in a statement.
“Full US engagement on human rights
issues is an important step toward realizing the goal of an inclusive and
vibrant intergovernmental process to protect human rights around the
globe,” the statement added.
The 47-member, Geneva-based
Council replaced the Human Rights Commission – which faced increasing
criticism over the years as being ineffective and not accountable –
in 2006.
The Council has several elements making it stronger,
including its higher status as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly,
its increased number of meetings throughout the year, equitable
geographical representation and also the voting rights associated with
membership.
Despite these improvements, the US felt at the time
that the Council did not go far enough and was among four countries that
voted against setting up the new body.
“The
Secretary-General also welcomes the announcement as a concrete embodiment
of the US commitment to a ‘new era of engagement,’”
today’s statement said.
UN News Centre
HREA - www.hrea.org
Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) is an international non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the training of activists and professionals; the development of educational materials and programming; and community-building through on-line technologies.
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