Pompeo Leads US Criticism of China’s Election to UN Human Rights Council

On October 13, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo led a chorus of criticism against the United Nations, after countries with poor human rights records were elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council. On October 13, Pompeo said in a statement: “The UN General Assembly once again elected countries with abhorrent human rights records, including China, Russia, and Cuba. These elections only further validate the U.S. decision to withdraw and use other venues and opportunities to protect and promote universal human rights.” In June 2018, the United States withdrew from the Human Rights Council before its term expired in 2019, over a lack of reforms within the U.N. body. On October 13, elections for the 47-seat Human Rights Council were held at the U.N. headquarters in New York City to fill 15 vacant seats distributed among five regional groups: African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and other States.