The U.S. delegation to the Human Rights Council is a part of the U.S. Mission Geneva, and other U.S. ambassadors stationed in Geneva are the United States ambassador to United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva (head of the overall mission, and not to be confused with the more well-known
United States ambassador to the United Nations stationed in New York), the
United States ambassador to the World Trade Organization, and the
United States ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was formed in April 1946 on a preliminary basis and then in January 1947 on a permanent basis. Former
First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt was chosen as its first chair on both occasions. In 1951 she relinquished the chair but stayed on as the U.S. representative to it. Commentary on people holding the post has often been linked with perceptions that the Commission on Human Rights was anti-U.S. and especially anti-Israel. Later, the United States withdrew from the council in 2018, but rejoined it in 2021. Besides Eleanor Roosevelt, the position has attracted some well-known Americans, including four past members of the
United States Congress, one of whom,
Geraldine Ferraro, had been
her party's nominee for vice president. ==Ambassadors==