GENEVA, Switzerland
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) stated on Thursday that as of Jan. 1, 2025, the United States' term as a member had ended, making it ineligible to withdraw from an intergovernmental body it was no longer part of.
"For the record, the
United States was a member of the Human Rights Council from Jan. 1, 2022, to
Dec. 31, 2024. Since Jan. 1, 2025, the United States is no longer a member of
the Human Rights Council and automatically became an observer state, like any
of the 193 UN member states that are not Council members. An observer state of
the Council cannot withdraw from an intergovernmental body it is no longer a
part of," Pascal Sim, spokesperson for the UNHRC, said in a statement.
"As a matter of
principle, and in the spirit of multilateral dialogue that characterizes the
Council, we welcome and encourage the engagement of every UN Member State -
whether as a Council member or an observer - in the work of the Council and its
mechanisms," the statement added.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order, withdrawing the United States from the UNHRC.
The UNHRC is composed of 47
member states, with approximately one-third of its seats up for election each
year. Member states serve three-year terms and may be re-elected once.
During Trump's first term, the
United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018. In February 2021, then
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Joe Biden administration
would re-engage with the Council as an observer.
The United States returned to
the body in January 2022 as a full member.
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