Posted on 10/14/21
| News Source: Arutz-7
The United States was re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday.
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the UNHRC in 2018, citing its longstanding anti-Israel bias.
However, the Biden Administration returned to the organization even though it acknowledged its “disproportionate focus” on Israel.
In an election held by the UN General Assembly on Thursday, 168 members voted in favor of US membership.
The US received the second lowest number of votes, surpassing only Eritrea, who had 144 votes, according to Reuters.
In remarks after the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield vowed to “oppose the Council’s disproportionate attention on Israel, which includes the Council’s only standing agenda item targeting a single country.”
“Our initial efforts as full members in the Council will focus on what we can accomplish in situations of dire need, such as in Afghanistan, Burma, China, Ethiopia, Syria, and Yemen. More broadly, we will promote respect for fundamental freedoms and women’s rights, and oppose religious intolerance, racial and ethnic injustices, and violence and discrimination against members of minority groups, including LGBTQI+ persons and persons with disabilities,” said Thomas-Greenfield.
The UNHRC continues to pass resolutions condemning Israel and, more recently, announced the formation of a commission chaired by Navi Pillay to investigate what was described as “systematic” abuses allegedly committed in Israel and Palestinian Authority territories during violence between Hamas and Israel in May.