The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State

Dear Madam Secretary:

We are writing to express great appreciation for your passionate address to the United Nations Human Rights Council last week and in particular for your articulation of what this body could and should be doing to fight human rights violations around the world, including in dealing with Libya's extreme actions in recent weeks.

Your strong statements regarding the Council’s "structural bias" against Israel, "disproportionate" focus on "any one country" and the imperative to correct this in order for the Council to be effective and true to its mission were extremely important.

Madam Secretary, as you know, the Anti-Defamation League has consistently raised serious concern about the Council’s credibility and its entrenched hostility towards Israel.  We urged the Administration to secure meaningful reform and change before agreeing to rejoin, but we also hoped that rigorous US opposition to the one-sided anti-Israel focus in the Council could be a force for change.
 
Statements such as yours send a strong signal that the US intends to stand by the principle that meaningful reform must address this structural bias.  We hope the United States will continue to make clear that its continued participation in the Council is dependent on its effectiveness, impartiality, and on reform that includes removing permanent agenda Item 7 on Israel.

Sincerely,