The United States has joined the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time.
U.S.
diplomats Friday pledged to work constructively with other council
members on behalf of the word's persecuted and abused people.
The
top diplomat at the U.S. mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Mark
Storella, said the United States is joining the three-year-old body in
the spirit of cooperation.
The U.S. was elected to the
Geneva-based council last month, after the Obama administration decided
to pursue a council seat. The Bush administration previously had
boycotted the organization, saying the U.N. rights body focused too
much on criticizing Israel, while ignoring human rights abuses in Sudan
and elsewhere.
President Barack Obama announced what he called a "new era of engagement" when he took office.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said human rights are an essential element of U.S. foreign policy.
The
U.N. Human Rights Council was formed in 2006 to take the place of the
U.N. Commission on Human Rights, an organization that critics said was
ineffective. The council is an inter-governmental body within the U.N.
system.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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