The United States has announced it will not participate in a United Nations review of its human rights record, a decision that rights advocates have condemned as a troubling retreat from Washington’s traditional global role on justice and rights issues.
A US State Department official told Reuters that the country will neither engage in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism nor submit its human rights report in November, when it and 13 other countries are scheduled for review.
“Engagement in UPRs implies endorsement of the (Human Rights) Council’s mandate and activities and ignores its persistent failure to condemn the most egregious human rights violators,” the official said.
The official explained that the move follows President Donald Trump’s executive order of 4 February to disengage from the UN Human Rights Council. Despite criticism, the official insisted Washington remained committed to its values. “The US is proud of its human rights record and leadership in advancing human rights around the world,” the official added.
Spokespeople for both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN human rights office confirmed that the US Mission in Geneva had formally notified them of the decision.
According to an analysis of the council’s public records, the US is now on course to become the first country not to deliver a report to the UPR, unless it submits one before the current review period ends in July 2027. The UPR requires all 193 UN member states to undergo a review of their human rights record every four-and-a-half to five years, with other states providing non-binding recommendations.
Ravina Shamdasani, chief spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the decision was regrettable. “Constructive engagement with the Council, by the US and all States, has contributed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide over the years,” she told Reuters.
Rights advocates warned the withdrawal would have far-reaching consequences. Michael Posner, director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University’s Stern School of Business and a former senior State Department official, said: “By withdrawing from the UPR, the US gives gross human rights abusers like Iran, Russia and Sudan an excuse to follow suit.”
Phil Lynch, Executive Director of the Geneva-based NGO International Service for Human Rights, delivered an even sharper rebuke. “Under Trump the US is rapidly becoming a human rights pariah state,” he said, adding that Washington’s refusal to engage showed “disdain for people facing discrimination.”
The US did submit a report during Trump’s first term, in April-May 2020, despite his earlier withdrawal from the Human Rights Council in 2018. The UPR process typically includes a national report from the country under review, alongside information gathered from UN human rights reports and non-governmental organisations.
Boluwatife Enome
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