The imminent change of guard in Washington has raised high hopes of a new direction in foreign policy, with the United Nations senior human rights official predicting this week that the arrival of the Obama administration could mark the return of the US to “the international family”.

Speaking on the eve of Wednesday’s 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, Navi Pillay, UN human rights commissioner, said the record of the Bush administration had been disappointing. “This is why there are great expectations pinned on the forthcoming presidency of Barack Obama.”