US Again Skips UN Human Rights Review, Drawing Fire from Rights Groups

The administration of US President Donald Trump, having previously withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council, once again failed to attend a United Nations review of its human rights record in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 10, 2026. This marks the second consecutive year Washington has boycotted its own review.

US representatives were absent from the UN in Geneva for the scheduled examination, a process that all 193 UN member states undergo every four to five years. UN Human Rights Council President Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro of Indonesia announced the delegation's absence as the session was due to commence. The US refusal to participate led the UN body to postpone the review of the US human rights record until January.

The US withdrew from the council in February 2025, shortly after President Trump began his second term, citing alleged bias against Israel. The Trump administration has been a vocal critic of the UN, pulling Washington out of key agencies, reducing funding, and bypassing the organization in actions such as the war on Iran.

A spokesperson for the US State Department stated that participation would imply endorsement of the council's work, asserting, "[We] give no credibility to the agency." The official further criticized the body, calling it an "irredeemable body" that "makes a mockery of human rights through consistent failures to uphold its own ‘values’ as it pushes anti-American rhetoric," without directly addressing allegations concerning the US record.

While the 47-member council has not directly condemned Washington's human rights record, experts have voiced concerns over issues including migrant deportations, which the US maintains are conducted in line with its immigration laws. UN documents indicated that countries had intended to raise topics such as abortion access and the death penalty. Additionally, US and international non-governmental organizations submitted nearly 200 reports to the UN covering subjects 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."

Fourteen countries were scheduled to participate in the review process in Geneva this month. During Trump's first term, the US did submit its UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report. Eric Tistounet, a visiting professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute and the council’s former first secretary, commented that the US boycott could undermine 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 stated.