The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) announced on Thursday that the United States cannot withdraw from an intergovernmental body it is no longer a part of. The U.S. term as a member ended on December 31, 2024, making it ineligible to resign from the Council.
“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,” UNHRC spokesperson Pascal Sim said in a statement.
“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 statement added.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the UNHRC. The move has sparked confusion and debate, given that the U.S. is currently an observer state, not a member.
The UNHRC is composed of 47 member states, with approximately one-third of its seats up for election each year. Member states serve three-year terms and may be re-elected once.
During Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018. In February 2021, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Joe Biden administration would re-engage with the Council as an observer. The United States returned to the body in January 2022 as a full member.
