US official: We will return again to the United Nations Human Rights Council

In statements to Reuters, a US State Department official said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will announce Monday that the United States will return to the United Nations Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, as an observer.

“We intend to do so and we know that the most effective way to reform and improve the council is to deal with it in a principled manner,” the official added.

He also added, “We know that the council has the ability to be an important platform for those who fight tyranny and injustice around the world, and we seek, through our presence at the table, to fix it and make sure that it can live up to this potential.”

The administration of US President Joe Biden will resume participation in the activities of the United Nations Human Rights Council, three years after former President Donald Trump withdrew due to what his administration described as bias against Israel and the lack of reform.

The UN General Assembly, which has 193 members, is due to elect new members to the council later this year.