The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) announced on Thursday that the United States' term as a member concluded on December 31, 2024. As a result, the U.S. is now an observer state and cannot withdraw from the Council, according to UNHRC spokesperson Pascal Sim.
\"For the record, the United States was a member of the Human Rights Council from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024. Since January 1, 2025, the United States is no longer a member of the Human Rights Council and automatically became an observer state, like any of the 193 UN member states that are not Council members. An observer state of the Council cannot withdraw from an intergovernmental body it is no longer a part of,\" Sim stated.
\"As a matter of principle, and in the spirit of multilateral dialogue that characterizes the Council, we welcome and encourage the engagement of every UN Member State – whether as a Council member or an observer – in the work of the Council and its mechanisms,\" the UNHRC added.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to withdraw the United States from the UNHRC. Previously, the U.S. had left the Council in June 2018 during Trump's first term. In February 2021, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the Biden administration would re-engage with the Council as an observer, and the U.S. rejoined as a full member in January 2022.
The UNHRC comprises 47 member states, with about one-third of its seats up for election each year. Members serve three-year terms and may be re-elected once.
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