Luisa Blanchfield
Specialist in International Relations
On March 15, 2006, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution replacing the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council (the Council). The Council was designed to be an improvement over the Commission, which was widely criticized for the composition of its membership when perceived human rights abusers were elected as members. The General Assembly resolution creating the Council modified voting procedures, increased the number of meetings per year, and introduced a “Universal Periodic Review” process to assess each member state’s fulfillment of its human rights obligations, among other things.
The United States, under the George W. Bush Administration, was one of four countries to vote against the resolution. The Administration maintained that the Council structure was no better than the Commission and that it lacked mechanisms for maintaining credible membership. During the Council’s first two years, the Bush Administration expressed concern with the Council’s disproportionate focus on Israel and lack of attention to other human rights situations. In mid- 2008, it announced that the United States would withhold a portion of its contributions to the 2008 U.N. regular budget equivalent to the U.S. share of the Human Rights Council budget. The Administration further stated that the United States would engage with the Council only in matters of deep national interest.
In March 2009, the Barack Obama Administration announced that the United States would run for a seat on the Council. The United States was elected as a Council member by the U.N. General Assembly in May 2009, and its term began its term in June. The Administration argues that it furthers the United States’ interest “if we are part of the conversation and present at the Council’s proceedings.” At the same time, however, it calls the Council’s trajectory “disturbing,” particularly its “repeated and unbalanced” criticisms of Israel. On November 5, 2010, the United States underwent the Council’s universal periodic review process for the first time. It was elected to the Council for a second consecutive term in November 2012.
Since its establishment, the Council has held 22 regular sessions and 19 special sessions. The regular sessions addressed a combination of specific human rights abuses and procedural and structural issues. Six of the 19 special sessions addressed the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian territories and in Lebanon. Four of the special sessions focused on Syria, while others addressed Burma (Myanmar), Cote d’Ivoire, Darfur, Haiti, Libya, and Sri Lanka. The Council held a five-year review of its work in March 2011. Some participants, including the United States, felt the review did not sufficiently address the Council’s weaknesses, particularly its focus on Israel and lack of mechanisms for ensuring credible membership.
Congress maintains an ongoing interest in the credibility and effectiveness of the Council in the context of both human rights and broader U.N. reform. Most recently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Division I, the Department of State Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012, P.L. 112-74) required that the Secretary of State report to Congress on resolutions adopted by the Council. The Act also stated that funds may be made available for voluntary contributions or payments of U.N. assessments in support of the Human Rights Council “if the Secretary of States determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that participation in the Council is in the national interest of the United States.”
Date of Report: April 30, 2013
Number of Pages: 25
Order Number: RL33608
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