The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress

Abstract

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 U.N. Secretariat and some governments, including the United States, view the establishment of the Council as a key component of comprehensive U.N. reform. 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, among other things, increases the number of meetings per year, reduces the number of Council seats from 53 to 47, and introduces a "universal periodic review" process to assess each Member State's fulfillment of its human rights obligations. One hundred seventy countries voted in favor of the resolution to create the Council. The United States was one of four countries to vote against the resolution, stating that the Council was no better than the Commission and that it lacked mechanisms for "maintaining credible membership." Despite these initial concerns, the Administration has said it will continue to fund and support the work of the Council. Currently, the United States is an observer to the Council and has no voting rights. 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. Some Members, for example, have proposed legislation that would withhold Council funding if certain criteria are not met. Due to the nature of U.N. budget mechanisms, withholding Council funds would be a largely symbolic gesture and may have little or no effect on the Council's operational work. It is expected that interest in this issue will continue in the 110th Congress as the Council enters its second year and expected U.N. reform efforts move forward. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 25, 2007
Accession Number
ADA471191

Entities

People

  • Luisa Blanchfield

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

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  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Rights
  • Congress
  • Correctional Facilities
  • Department Of State
  • European Union
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Military Operations
  • Terrorism
  • United Nations
  • United States
  • Voting Rights

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  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies