US Said Not Seeking Seat On New UN Rights Council

He added that the United States believes many good candidates have already put their names forward for the May 9 election and "we'll probably run for a seat later on." "This decision is not a reflection on our willingness or unwillingness to work with the council but how we can we best play a positive role," he said. Rep. Tom Lantos of California, senior Democrat on the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, called the decision "a major retrenchment in America's long struggle to advance the cause of human rights around the world." "It is a profound signal of U.S. isolation at a time when we need to work cooperatively with our Security Council partners," he said in a statement. http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-06T170213Z_01_ALL657204_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-RIGHTS-UN-ELECTIONS-20060406.XML&archived=False

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