US Set to Become First Country to Skip UN Human Rights Review

Washington: The United States is set on Tuesday to become the first country to completely boycott its regular review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva since the body was created two decades ago, in a move critics say could weaken the system.

The Trump administration withdrew the US from the council last year, accusing it of bias against the US and Israel and of failing to uphold the values it promotes. The universal periodic review examines the rights record of all 193 UN member states roughly every four to five years, with national delegations presenting, answering questions and hearing recommendations from other envoys. Washington already skipped its slot in November 2025, and the review was postponed to Tuesday in the hope it would reconsider. It did not.

A State Department spokesperson told the Associated Press that the US gives the agency no credibility, calling it an irredeemable body that makes a mockery of human rights and pushes anti-American rhetoric. The council says the process needs the country’s participation, and without representatives the review cannot proceed.

Supporters of the council say it should monitor all members, including the US, which has drawn criticism over strong-arm deportations and targeted killings of alleged drug-runners in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union's human rights program said the administration was telling the world it did not care about review and would keep violating rights, and said civil society wanted the council to hold Washington accountable. The ACLU and allies have asked the UN human rights chief to give an update on rights in the US early next year.