Australian officials have been working hard to secure one of two seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 term, pushing at international forums for voting countries to back their bid. [...] Just six months ago, during his visit to Australia, Special Rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights François Crépeau said Australia’s human rights standing had been tarnished by its “regressive” migration policies falling behind international standards. Treatment of migrants by boat “served to erode their human rights.”

The United States will continue its assertive support for fundamental rights and will hold this UN body to the highest standards -- standards rooted in the bedrock values of our nation and the belief that international peace, security, and prosperity are strengthened when human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected.

Israel will renew its cooperation with the United Nations’ Human Rights Council after a year and a half of boycott, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Sunday. In light of the decision, Israel will take part in the periodical hearing regarding human rights in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said. A team of Israeli diplomats and jurists is departing for Geneva tonight (Sunday) to prepare for Tuesday’s hearing.

In the wake of the U.S. reelection to the UN Human Rights Council, Ryan Kaminski, the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) Leo Nevas Human Rights Fellow, offers his analysis of how the Obama administration can take advantage of this election.