华盛顿——拜登政府定于本周宣布，将与备受指责的前总统联合国人权理事会重新接触唐纳德·特朗普美国官员周日表示，大约三年前就退出了。这一决定扭转了特朗普时代远离多边组织和协议的又一举措。
U..美国官员说，国务卿安东尼·布林肯和一名驻日内瓦的美国高级外交官将于星期一宣布，华盛顿将以观察员的身份回到这个总部设在日内瓦的机构，着眼于寻求选举作为正式成员。这一决定可能会招致保守派议员和亲以色列社区许多人的批评。
特朗普于2018年退出了这个世界机构的主要人权机构，原因是它对以色列的关注过度。迄今为止，以色列收到的针对任何国家的批评性安理会决议数量最多，其成员中也有许多威权国家，而且它未能满足时任美国驻联合国大使妮基·黑利要求的一系列改革。
除了安理会对以色列的持续关注之外，特朗普政府还对该机构的成员资格提出质疑，该机构目前包括中国、古巴、厄立特里亚、俄罗斯和委内瑞拉，所有这些国家都被指控侵犯人权。
一名美国高级官员表示，拜登政府认为安理会仍必须改革，但促进变革的最佳方式是“以有原则的方式参与进来”。这位官员说，这可能是“世界各地反对暴政和不公正的人的一个重要论坛”，美国的存在旨在“确保它能够发挥这一潜力”。
该官员和其他三名熟悉该决定的人在宣布之前无权公开讨论此事，并要求匿名。
尽管美国在2021年底之前在安理会只有无表决权的观察员地位，但官员们表示，政府打算从提出的“西欧和其他国家集团”中寻求三个正式成员席位中的一个——目前由奥地利、丹麦和意大利担任选举今年晚些时候。
联合国大会在每年10月举行的投票中做出最终选择，以填补由47个成员国组成的理事会的三年任期空缺。
几十年来，美国与安理会及其前身联合国人权委员会的接触一直是共和党和民主党政府之间的政治博弈。虽然认识到它的缺点，但民主党总统倾向于在谈判桌上占有一席之地，而共和党人则因其对以色列的批评而退缩。
然而，特朗普退出联合国人权理事会是他任职四年期间美国在国际社会中的一系列缩减之一。他还退出了巴黎气候协议、伊朗核协议、世界卫生组织、联合国教育和文化组织、联合国教科文组织以及几项军备控制条约。特朗普还威胁退出国际邮政联盟，并多次暗示退出世界贸易组织。
自上个月上任以来，乔·拜登总统重新加入了巴黎协议和世卫组织，并表示有兴趣回到伊朗协议和教科文组织。
US moves to rejoin UN rights council, reversing Trump anew
WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is set to announce this week that it will reengage with the much-maligned U.N. Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago, U.S. officials said Sunday. The decision reverses another Trump-era move away from multilateral organizations and agreements.
U..S. officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior U.S. diplomat in Geneva will announce on Monday that Washington will return to the Geneva-based body as an observer with an eye toward seeking election as a full member. The decision is likely to draw criticism from conservative lawmakers and many in the pro-Israel community.
Trump pulled out of the world body's main human rights agency in 2018 due to its disproportionate focus on Israel, which has received by far the largest number of critical council resolutions against any country, as well as the number of authoritarian countries among its members and because it failed to meet an extensive list of reforms demanded by then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
In addition to the council’s persistent focus on Israel, the Trump administration took issue with the body’s membership, which currently includes China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russia and Venezuela, all of which have been accused of human rights abuses.
One senior U.S. official said the Biden administration believed the council must still reform but that the best way to promote change is to “engage with it in a principled fashion.” The official said it can be “an important forum for those fighting tyranny and injustice around the world” and the U.S. presence intends to "ensure it can live up to that potential.”
That official and three others familiar with the decision were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly ahead of the announcement, and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although the U.S. will have only nonvoting observer status on the council through the end of 2021, the officials said the administration intends to seek one of three full member seats — currently held by Austria, Denmark and Italy — from the “Western Europe and other states group” that come up for election later this year.
The U.N. General Assembly makes the final choice in a vote that generally takes place in October every year to fill vacancies in three-year terms at the 47-member-state council.
U.S. engagement with the council and its predecessor, the U.N. Human Rights Commission, has been something of a political football between Republican and Democratic administrations for decades. While recognizing its shortcomings, Democratic presidents have tended to want a seat at the table while Republicans have recoiled at its criticism of Israel.
Trump's withdrawal from the UNHRC, however, was one of a number of U.S. retrenchments from the international community during his four years in office. He also walked away from the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear deal, the World Health Organization, U.N. education and cultural organization, UNESCO, and several arms-control treaties. Trump also threatened to withdraw from the International Postal Union and frequently hinted at pulling out of the World Trade Organization.
Since taking office last month, President Joe Biden has rejoined both the Paris accord and the WHO and has signaled interest in returning to the Iran deal as well as UNESCO.
