The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 9-8 on Wednesday to approve the nomination of Keith Harper, a member of the Cherokee Nation, to serve in an ambassador-rank post.

In June, President Barack Obama nominated Harper as the United States Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council. If confirmed by the Senate, Harper will help address human rights issues around the world.

"He has spent decades fighting for the civil and human rights of Native Americans and indigenous people here and around the world," the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights said in a letter. "His experience as a litigator, a judge on tribal courts, and advocate and negotiator before the Organization of American States and the United Nations on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians, makes him exceptionally well-qualified for this position."

Get the Story:
Sen. Committee Narrowly Affirms Harper Nomination; Debate Looms on Floor (Indian Country Today 12/19)

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