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GENEVA, June 23-- Despite the announcement by the United States to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, the council continued its busy work at hand addressing numerous human rights issues and situations at its ongoing 38th session this week. Throughout this week, together with UN independent human rights experts and members of civil society, representatives are shedding light on the world's human rights situation and demanding change aimed to improve the lives of rights holders. This effort included an annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women. It also included a number of interactive dialogues with UN rights experts on issues ranging from trafficking in persons to poverty. During this week, the UN rights officials and experts also showed their concern on the situation of thousands of migrant children forcibly separated from their parents and held in detention in the United States at its southern border. U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley on June 19 announced in Washington that the United States is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council, which UN rights officials responded as "disappointing, if not really surprising". "Given the state of human rights in today's world, the US should be stepping up, not stepping back," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein said shortly after the U.S. announcement. Vojislav Suc, president of the UN Human Rights Council, told the ongoing 38th session of the Council here in Geneva Wednesday that once he receive the necessary formal notification to this effect, he will ask the Secretariat to rearrange the room accordingly. | 
