US rides storm of criticism over human rights record

THE United States weathered criticism of its human rights record from friends and foes alike in a United Nations forum that the former Bush administration had boycotted as hypocritical.

Senior US officials defended the United States against allegations it used torture and said President Barack Obama’s government had begun “turning the page” on practices of the Bush administration that had caused global outrage.

Former president George W Bush’s government had shunned the UN Human Rights Council, saying it did not need to be scolded by countries such as Syria and Cuba whose own records on human rights were poor. It also accused the council of being biased against Israel.