The United Nations Human Rights Council has postponed a review of the United States’ human rights record after American representatives did not attend a scheduled session in Geneva for the second year in a row.
At an organisational meeting on 10 November, the council decided that the review should instead take place during a working group session running from 18 to 29 January 2027. The decision was adopted without a vote and called on the United States to resume cooperation with the process.
The examination had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2025. It was moved to 10 November 2026 after the United States did not participate in the first appointment. The latest decision therefore postpones the same review again rather than completing it.
The council asked its president to continue efforts to encourage US cooperation and to report back at its regular sessions. It also decided to consider any appropriate steps before the January working group session concludes, taking account of the rules governing the process and the expected end of the current review cycle in mid-2027. It did not specify what those steps would be.
How the review works
The Universal Periodic Review is a system through which UN member states examine one another’s human rights records. It was established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 and applies to all 193 member states, normally on a cycle of about four and a half years.
The United States last underwent the process in November 2020. The postponed examination is part of the fourth cycle of reviews, which began in 2022.
In a usual session, the country being reviewed can explain the steps it has taken and the difficulties it faces. Other member states can ask questions and make recommendations. A report records the discussion and the recommendations, which are non-binding; the country concerned can accept them or note them.
The process draws on more than a government’s own account. UN officials compile material from independent experts, treaty bodies and other UN sources. A separate summary brings together information from organisations outside government, including human rights institutions and civil society groups.
Those groups can submit information for consideration, while the dialogue at the working group itself is between states. They can also make statements when the outcome is considered at a later council session. The system is intended to give countries an opportunity both to describe progress and to address concerns raised by others.
Disagreement over participation
President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew the United States from the Human Rights Council in 2025, accusing the body of bias against the United States and Israel. The State Department has also criticised the council’s handling of human rights and said that taking part in the review would imply endorsement of its work.
Leaving the council is separate from the review system’s coverage: the peer-review process applies to UN member states whether or not they sit on the council. Council members have sought to persuade Washington to return to the process.
A representative speaking on behalf of European Union members of the council expressed regret at the US decision not to participate and said all states should be subject to international scrutiny.
Human rights advocates have also argued that the United States should face examination. Jamil Dakwar, of the American Civil Liberties Union, raised concerns about the treatment of immigrants, protesters and LGBTQ people. He and other advocates have called for the UN human rights chief to provide an update on the US situation early next year. Those concerns are allegations and calls for scrutiny, not findings from the postponed review.
Other countries had prepared questions for the US on subjects including access to abortion and the death penalty. With no American delegation present, the dialogue planned for November could not take place. The new decision names a session for the review but does not guarantee that the United States will attend.
