U.S. Becomes First Nation To Refuse U.N. Human Rights Review
The United States on Tuesday became the first country to fully refuse a mandatory human rights review by the United Nations Human Rights Council, skipping a rescheduled session of its universal periodic review in Geneva and raising fears of lasting damage to the UN system.[1]
US officials did not appear for the examination, which had been reset for November 10 after Washington also failed to show up for its original review last year, forcing UN officials to cancel the session because the process cannot proceed without the country's active participation.[1] A State Department spokesperson, responding by email, said Washington gives "no credibility" to what it called an "irredeemable body" that "makes a mockery of human rights," doubling down on the Trump administration's decision to cut ties with the council and withhold funding.[1]
The missed review stems from a February 4, 2025 executive order in which President Donald Trump again withdrew the US from the Human Rights Council, ended the post of US representative to the body and ordered that the United States "will not participate in the UNHRC," accusing the council of shielding abusers and unfairly targeting US allies.[2] The council had first scheduled the US universal periodic review for November 2025, but Washington skipped that appearance, prompting members to postpone the session by a year in hopes the administration would reconsider and re-engage with the peer-review process.[1]
Council records show this is not the first time a country has missed its own universal periodic review: Israel boycotted its scheduled session on January 29, 2013 after freezing relations with the council, but later agreed to return and underwent its review that October.[3] Human rights monitors at UPR Info note that after the Israel case the council never defined what "persistent non-cooperation" means under its rules, a missed chance that left the body with no formal sanctions or clear response when a state like the US now fully refuses to be reviewed.[4]
Human rights advocates warn that Washington's latest no-show goes further than Israel's temporary boycott and could set a dangerous precedent for other governments facing scrutiny over abuses at home.[3] Eric Tistounet, a former head of the Human Rights Council secretariat, and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union argue that if the UN's largest funder and a self-styled human rights champion walks away from universal periodic review, more authoritarian states may feel emboldened to snub the system without consequence.[1] ACLU human rights director Jamil Dakwar said his organization and allies have asked the UN human rights chief to deliver an independent update on US rights conditions early next year as a partial substitute, underscoring how outside groups are trying to fill the gap left by the government's withdrawal.[1]
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📊 Relevant Data
Israel was the first state not to appear for its own Universal Periodic Review, on Jan. 29, 2013, after suspending relations with the Human Rights Council in May 2012. The Council rescheduled the review by consensus and set a procedural precedent for future non-cooperation (decision A/HRC/OM/7/1). Israel returned and was reviewed on Oct. 29, 2013.
Israel absent from its own UPR — UPR Info
UPR Info's 2013 review says the Council never defined 'persistent non-cooperation' under Article 38 of resolution 5/1 after the Israel case, which it called a missed opportunity. The Council therefore has no formal sanction for a state that refuses to be reviewed.
A year at the UPR: our analysis of the UPR process in 2013 — UPR Info
The current boycott follows a Feb. 4, 2025 executive order, which ordered that 'the United States will not participate in the UNHRC,' ended the U.S. Representative post, withheld the U.S. share of UN regular-budget funding for the Council and cited the 2018 withdrawal as precedent. The order accused the Council of protecting human rights abusers.
Withdrawing the United States from and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations — The White House
📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, November 10, 2026, the U.S. failed to appear for its rescheduled universal periodic review before the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
- The original U.S. review was set for November 2025 but postponed a year after Washington skipped that session.
- A State Department spokesperson said by email that the U.S. gives "no credibility" to the council and called it an "irredeemable body" that "makes a mockery of human rights."
- Council officials say reviews cannot go forward without the country’s participation, making the U.S. the first state to fully shun the process since it began.
- Human rights groups, including the ACLU, and former council secretary Eric Tistounet warned the U.S. walkout could damage the credibility of the global review mechanism and encourage copycat refusals.
- The Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the Human Rights Council again in 2025 (Executive Order of Feb. 4, 2025, which said the U.S. 'will not participate in the UNHRC'). The skipped review follows from that order. (The White House)
- The U.S. review was first scheduled for November 2025. Washington skipped it, and the Council postponed it to Nov. 10, 2026 in hopes the U.S. would change its mind. (CBS News (AP))
- Israel missed its scheduled UPR on Jan. 29, 2013, the first state to do so, but returned and was reviewed in October 2013. The U.S. is the first to fully shun the process. (UPR Info)
- The ACLU's Jamil Dakwar said the ACLU and allies have asked the UN human rights chief to present an update on rights in the United States early next year instead. (CBS News (AP))
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