In an act testament to the Obama administration’s ‘new era of engagement’, the United States has confirmed that it will stand for election to one of the three open seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Council has been the subject of much controversy in the past, and the decision of the U.S. to join, reversing yet another policy of the Bush administration, has brought criticism from across the board.

The Council is comprised of 47 members, and is the 2006 successor of the 1946 U.N. Human Rights Commission, which was the subject of intense scrutiny when questions were raised about members’ own human rights records. According to Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N, the U.S. is looking to join the Council primarily because it believes “working from within” is the best way to “make the council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights.”

According to John Bolton, Susan Rice’s predecessor, the decision is of little real importance; in his previous capacity as U.S. ambassador to the U.N, Bolton was in firm opposition to the formation of the Human Rights Council, claiming it would inherit the failings of the 1946 Commission. In spite of initial opposition by the U.S., Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau, the U.N General Assembly voted in favour of the decision.

Over its three year existence, several decisions of the Council have attracted criticism from the world forum, in particular 16 separate condemnations of Isreal, and bringing an end to the scrutiny of Iran and Uzbekistan. Regardless of some criticism, the decision to run for the seat — a guaranteed win, given the withdrawal of New Zealand — will be confirmed by elections to be held on May 15th.

After the U.S. joins the Council, they will serve a three-year term without veto power; human rights advocates are hopeful about the level of behind-the-scenes attention the U.S. could bring to human rights violations.

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