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Miami, FL – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today urged the Obama Administration to withdraw its bid to serve on the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council, in advance of the U.N. General Assembly vote scheduled to occur Friday. Among the countries in the running are China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Egypt, whose controversial human rights records are antithetical to the mission of the Council.

“That countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Egypt would even be considered for membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council is a joke,” said Rubio. “Governments that actively persecute people of faith, imprison dissidents, repress free speech and violate other basic human rights have no business leading an international body purportedly committed to ending human rights abuses. If the Human Rights Council wants to maintain any shred of credibility, basic respect for and protection of human rights must be a prerequisite for membership. Until that is the case, the United States should have nothing to do with this broken institution, and I urge the Obama Administration to withdraw its bid for American membership. For human rights violators that are virtually guaranteed membership as part of regional slates, I urge U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power to publicly oppose their membership and warn other countries of the consequences in terms of U.S. funding of this and other U.N. agencies.”