Rick Scott, Marco Rubio say rejoining U.N. human rights group is wrong

U.S. Senators from Florida protested Monday, albeit to no avail, the latest reversal of a Donald Trump policy by the Joe Biden White House.

The “tragic mistake,” according to Sen. Rick Scott, was the Biden team’s order to rescind the 2018 decision to leave the United Nations Human Rights Council by the previous administration.

“As I’ve said before, their actions don’t match their rhetoric, and reengaging with them in any capacity would be a tragic mistake. The Biden administration must make it absolutely clear that the United States stands for human rights and reject engaging with an organization that turns a blind eye to genocide,” Scott asserted.

The Senator described the panel as a “U.N.-sanctioned club that spends most of its time targeting our ally, Israel.”

Rubio offered similar criticisms: “The Human Rights Council is a broken institution that makes a mockery of human rights. Administrations on both sides of the aisle have failed to push for serious reforms of the Council, and the Biden Administration should accept the reality that, as long as the world’s worst human rights violators sit on this Council, reform is simply not possible and the Council will never fulfill its mission.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has acknowledged that the council runs counter to American interests, but it is better to have a seat at the table than not.

“The U.N. Human Rights Council is flawed and needs reform, but walking away won’t fix it. The best way to improve the Council, so it can achieve its potential, is through robust and principled U.S. leadership,” Blinken tweeted Monday. “When it works well, the U.N. Human Rights Council shines a spotlight on countries with the worst human rights records and can serve as a beacon for those fighting against injustice and tyranny. That’s why the U.S. is back at the table.”