Washington, DC – Congressman James P. McGovern, Democratic Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued the following statement on the just announced intention of the United States to seek a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council:

“I am very pleased that President Obama has made the bold decision for the U.S. to run for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. I am committed to working closely with other human rights leaders in the Congress to provide the Administration with any support it may need to successfully implement this important decision.

When the old U.N. Human Rights Commission became marred by political brinksmanship and intrigue, and the worst human rights offenders were allowed to take over this U.N. human rights mechanism, the world came together in a reform effort that led to the creation of the Human Rights Council. While this fledgling entity carried high hopes internationally for a dramatic improvement in human rights accountability, the self-fulfilling prophesy of the previous Administration that the Council would as surely fail as the Commission did, coupled with the failure of the United States to provide strong human rights leadership by choosing not to participate, seriously undermined the work and credibility of the Council from its inauguration. Predictably, the Council fell into the same patterns that had bogged down the Commission before, becoming obsessed with criticism of Israel on every occasion while major human rights violations in Sudan, Zimbabwe, China, Burma and other areas were hardly mentioned or investigated.

It is high time the United States rejoins the rest of the family of nations in making the Council the strongest international human rights entity yet. I am certain that under Secretary Clinton's and Ambassador Rice's leadership, the United States will not only mount a successful bid for the seat, but will once again be a leader in the defense of human rights, and will work successfully for the structural changes needed to improve the Council. You need to be in it to win it."