Here's what Dr. Susan E. Rice (left), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told Politico about the U.S. decision to seek a seat on the Human Rights Council for the 1st time since it was established in 2006:'We have a record of abject failure from having stayed out. We've been out for the duration and it has not gotten better. It's arguably gotten worse. We are much better placed to be fighting for the principles we believe in -- protection of human rights universally, fighting against the anti-Israel crap, and for meaningful action on issues that we care about and ought to be the top of the agenda -- things like Zimbabwe, Sudan, Burma, by leading and lending our voice from within.'
In an interview well worth reading, Rice also indicated that the February announcement that the United States was pulling out of Durban II, the World Conference on Racism, to be held this month in Geneva, may in the end lead to U.S. involvement: following the announcement organizers to produced a new draft agreement that's much more to the United States' liking.
Rice struck a tone far different from that of a recent predecessor, John Bolton (who, not surprisingly, already has condemned the new administration's decision that the United States will try to work within the Human Rights Council). She said of the United Nations:
'This is an institution that, despite its evident flaws, we are much better off having function effectively.'
