April 3, 2009, Washington, DC: The Obama administration has decided to seek a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, reversing the Bush administration’s choice to shun the UN’s premier rights body, according to a story in the Washington Post this week.

The decision was welcomed by human rights activists, who have been advocating US membership in the council since its creation three years ago. In December 2008, The Advocacy Project’s Executive Director, Iain Guest, pubished an op-ed piece urging the Obama administration to join the Council.

The United States announced it would participate in elections in May for one of three seats on the 47-member council, joining a slate that includes Belgium and Norway.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system whose mission is to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights globally. The Council was formed in 2006 to replace the Human Rights Commission, which had lost international credibility.