The United States won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday after President Barack Obama reversed a policy that had kept the country out of the controversial body. The US received 167 votes in the election in the UN General Assembly, which has a total of 192 members. The assembly also elected 17 other countries to three-year terms on the 47-member council, which is based in Geneva. Former president George W Bush refused to support the council in 2006 when it was established, claiming that election rules could not keep countries with bad human rights records from winning seats on the council. Obama last month reversed that policy and announced the US intention to run for a seat.
