Trump administration again boycotts UN human rights review

UN Human Rights Council delays US human rights record examination until January after Washington refuses meeting.

The United States ⁠⁠has again boycotted a United Nations examination of its human rights record, drawing criticism from rights groups who say violations under President Donald Trump are surging to levels not seen in decades.

US representatives on Tuesday failed to show up at the UN in Geneva for the review, which all 193 UN member states undergo every four to five years.

Recommended Stories

“The delegation of the United States is not present in the room,” UN Human Rights Council President Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, of Indonesia, announced as the session was set to begin.

The US refusal to participate prompted the UN body to delay examining the US human rights record until January. This is the second year in a row that Washington has skipped its own review.

The US withdrew from the council in February 2025 shortly after Trump began his second presidential term, claiming it was biased against Israel.

The Trump administration has been a fierce critic of the UN, withdrawing Washington from key agencies, slashing its funding and bypassing the body in launching the war on Iran.

A US State Department spokesperson said participation would imply endorsement of the council’s work.

“[We] give no credibility to the agency,” the spokesperson said.

“This irredeemable body makes a mockery of human rights through consistent failures to uphold its own ‘values’ as it pushes anti-American rhetoric,” the official added, without responding to allegations about the US record.

The 47-member council has not directly criticised Washington’s rights record. However, experts have expressed alarm over issues such as migrant deportations, which Washington maintains are carried out in accordance with US immigration law.

UN documents show countries had planned to raise issues such as abortion access and the death penalty.

US and international non-governmental organisations also sent nearly 200 UN submissions covering ⁠⁠topics from migration to racial discrimination.

“Enough is enough,” Jamil Dakwar, of the American Civil Liberties Union, told ⁠⁠reporters in Geneva.

“We’ve seen attacks on fundamental human rights and civil liberties unprecedented in generations,” he added.

Fourteen countries are due to take part in ⁠⁠the review process in Geneva this month. During Trump’s first term in office, the US submitted its UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report.

Eric Tistounet, a visiting professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute who was the council’s first secretary, said the US walkout could affect the credibility of the council’s review system.

“If the predominant global power, which has always claimed to adhere to the human rights norms, doesn’t show up and doesn’t even justify why, then you are in big trouble,” he said.