U.S. Rejoins U.N. Human Rights Council
The Obama administration noted a recent reduction in U.N. Human Rights Council actions targeting Israel in defending its decision to rejoin the body.
Paula Schriefer, the deputy assistant secretary for international organizational affairs, outlined on Wednesday what she said were U.S. successes on the council, including the the authorization of special rapporteurs for Syria, Belarus and Iran and commissions of inquiry on a number of other human rights abusers.
Schriefer, speaking to the Brookings Institution, acknowledged continuing problems with the council’s tendency to single out Israel.
“While the biased, Israel-specific agenda unfortunately still exists, we are pleased that there were no resolutions tabled under this agenda item during this session,” she said, referring to the most recent council session in June.
She noted that that the council named members to a special fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements, adding that it arose out of an earlier session’s resolution and was not a new action.
“The United States has made clear its belief that this politicized fact finding mission on Israeli settlements does not advance the cause of peace and will not add useful information to the debate over settlements,” she said.
The Obama administration reversed the Bush administration’s policy of boycotting the body because of its institutional bias against Israel, saying the United States could accomplish more by working within the body to target genuine rights abusers and tamp down anti-Israel actions.
Republican lawmakers have called on the Obama administration to pull out of the body.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
