GENEVA,
Oct 15: The United States returned to the UN Human Rights Council on
Thursday, three-and-a-half years after its dramatic walk-out -- time
seized upon by China to assert wider influence. The United Nations
General Assembly elected 18 new members of the UN's top rights body,
with countries kicking off their three-year council term from January 1.
Though
member states were chosen in a secret ballot, the election was a
non-contest, with 18 candidate countries standing for 18 seats. Beyond
the United States, the other states elected are: Argentina, Benin,
Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia
and the United Arab Emirates.
The council is tasked with promoting
and protecting human rights worldwide, addressing violations and making
recommendations, but the election of Eritrea again raises the issue of
having authoritarian regimes on the body. Under former president Donald
Trump, the United States quit the council in 2018, accusing it of
hypocrisy and obsession with haranguing Israel.
But when Washington
returns in January under President Joe Biden, it will come face to face
with an emboldened China that took advantage of the US absence to flex
its muscles. "The Chinese and all those who are fundamentally against
human rights as Europeans understand them... oppose economic, social and
cultural rights. It is not a new trend, but it is undeniably growing
stronger," one European diplomat told AFP. -AFP
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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