U.S. won’t seek on human rights panel

UNITED NATIONS – The United States will not seek a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights Council this year, the State Department said Thursday, a decision that underscores its disappointment with the framework of the panel but also eliminates an opportunity to help shape it in its crucial first year.

The Bush administration’s decision marks the first time that the U.S. has not sought a seat on the U.N.’s premier human rights body since the world organization was formed following World War II. It was apparently made in part because of fears that Washington, under scrutiny by human rights investigators for its treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, might not have won a seat in a vote of the General Assembly.

“The United States will work cooperatively with other member states to make the council as strong and effective as possible,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack in Washington. He added that the U.S. will fund and support the body and will “likely” seek a seat next year.

Although the U.S. initially pushed to create the council, it stood virtually alone last month in seeking to reject it in a 170-4 General Assembly vote. U.S. officials said that the manner in which the council is set up does not do enough to keep rights abusers off the panel. The previous Human Rights Commission was often criticized for including countries with poor human rights records, which helped them avoid the council’s censure.

McCormack said Thursday it was “fair” to let other allies who embraced the council serve first, implying that the U.S. is in a difficult position to be a leader on the body after such a public rejection.