The United States will not participate in the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process and will miss its November reporting deadline, officials have confirmed.
Rights advocates have criticised the move, calling it a worrying retreat from Washington’s engagement on global human rights and justice issues.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said participation in UPR implies endorsement of the Human Rights Council’s mandate, noting the Council has consistently failed to condemn the worst human rights violators.
Experts warn the decision could give other countries, such as Iran, Russia and Sudan, an excuse to follow suit. Michael Posner, director of the Centre for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern, said the withdrawal undermines international human rights efforts. Phil Lynch of the Geneva-based NGO International Service for Human Rights described the U.S. as “rapidly becoming a human rights pariah state.”
The State Department emphasised that the U.S. remains proud of its human rights record and global leadership in advancing rights.
Under the UPR system, countries submit a national report alongside information from U.N. human rights reports and NGOs.
The U.S. will be the first country to skip a review unless it submits a report before the current cycle ends in July 2027.
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The U.S. said it struck Iranian radar sites on Qeshm Island and in Goruk after intercepting four drones, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launches retaliatory strikes on four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.
In a workshop surrounded by the wreckage of war, workers in Gaza are giving a second life to small leisure boats once used for family outings and swimming trips.
Five Azerbaijani crew members were killed, and three others were injured after two cargo vessels were hit in a drone attack in the Sea of Azov, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, as Russia blamed Ukraine for the strike.
The United States has approved the possible sale of five Seahawk maritime helicopters to New Zealand in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, as Wellington moves to strengthen its armed forces.
Five Azerbaijani crew members were killed, and three others were injured after two cargo vessels were hit in a drone attack in the Sea of Azov, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, as Russia blamed Ukraine for the strike.
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