The Democratic Republic of Congo was elected to the UN Human Rights Council today despite opposition from the United States. DR Congo was among the 15 countries who won seats on the council during a vote at the UN General Assembly. <br/><br/>They will serve on the 47-member council from January 2018 through the<br/>end of 2020. Congo won 151 votes in the 193-member assembly, garnering an easy majority despite the campaign against its election.<br/>'<br/>Kinshasa now finds itself in the rare position of sitting on the Geneva-based council while the body investigates allegations of killings, torture, rape and the use of child soldiers in the Kasai region of the DR Congo.<br/>'<br/>The United States, which has threatened to quit the council, has criticized the "clean slate" practice for choosing members and has pushed for competitive elections to challenge countries with questionable human rights records.<br/>