US Boycotts Mandatory UN Human Rights Review: Second Nation Ever to Skip Universal Periodic Review Process

The United States was notably absent Friday from the mandatory Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record, making it only the second nation ever to boycott this regular United Nations process.

"We were scheduled to conduct the review of the United States today. However, I must note that the United States delegation is not present in this room," announced Jurg Lauber, the UN Human Rights Council president, as he commenced the session.

The American absence was anticipated, as Washington had declared its intention to boycott the process back in August. Nevertheless, this decision provoked frustration among numerous local US officials and human rights organizations who had traveled to Geneva to express their growing concerns following President Trump's return to office in January.

Several nations gathered for the review expressed their disappointment. China's representative criticized Washington's "lack of respect for the UPR mechanism," while Cuba's representative accused the United States of attempting "to undermine the Human Rights Council and the UN system and civil society as a whole," adding that "the government of the United States is clearly afraid of the outcome of this exercise."

After confirming the absence of any US delegation, the council promptly adopted a decision regarding "non-cooperation of a state under review." The council "called upon the state under review to resume its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism" and rescheduled the US review for late 2026, noting the possibility of conducting it earlier.

Historically, only Israel had previously failed to appear for its UPR in early 2013, though Israel eventually participated in a postponed review ten months later.