US to reengage with UN Human Rights Council

WASHINGTON - The US State Department said on Monday that it would reengage with the UN Human Rights Council as an observer.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that President Joe Biden had instructed the department to reengage with the UN Human Rights Council "immediately and robustly".

He said the United States in the immediate term would engage with the body as an observer.

Blinken noted that US withdrawal in 2018 "did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of US leadership."

The Trump administration announced its withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council in June 2018, accusing the council of being a "hypocritical and self-serving organization" and biased against Israel.