Marco Rubio: China, Russia, Cuba Don't Belong on UN Human Rights Council

With the U.N. expected to vote on which countries should be on its Human Rights Council on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on Friday, arguing violators of human rights -- including Russia, China and Cuba -- should be excluded. Rubio sits on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

No one can honestly say that countries that actively oppress their people or look the other way when fundamental freedoms are assaulted should sit in judgment of others human rights records, Rubio said on Friday. "Holding a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council should be an honor reserved only for countries that truly strive to uphold the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

China, Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam are all countries that physically abuse and incarcerate people for exercising their God-given rights, institutionalize the second-class treatment of women and ethnic minorities, silence independent journalists, and look the other way as human trafficking and religious freedom violations destroy their peoples dignity," Rubio added. "They have no place on the U.N. Human Rights Council.

I urge the administration to not only oppose their election, but also hope our representative speaks forcefully against their candidacies and appeals to other General Assembly members to align with the aspirations of all people who are being denied fundamental rights and freedoms, Rubio said. The fact that such blatant violators of basic human rights can run for this council is yet another clear sign that the U.N. reform legislation I introduced earlier this year deserves Congresss consideration and approval. It is unconscionable that American taxpayer dollars continue to be devoted to a U.N. Human Rights Council that runs so counter to Americas interests in promoting freedom around the world.