UN council urges US to resume human rights review cooperation

The UN Human Rights Council has expressed regret over what it described as the continued non-cooperation of the United States with its international human rights review mechanism, urging Washington to resume participation in the process.

In a decision adopted Tuesday during an organisational meeting in Geneva, the council criticised the US decision not to participate in its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which was initially scheduled for November 7, 2025, and subsequently postponed to November 10, 2026.

The council called on Washington to resume cooperation with the mechanism in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.

It also requested the council president to continue taking appropriate measures to encourage US participation and report on those efforts during regular sessions.

US review postponed until January 2027

The council decided to reschedule the US assessment for January 18-29, 2027, during the 54th session of the UPR Working Group.

It also agreed to consider additional measures before the session concludes, taking into account the planned completion of the fourth review cycle in mid-2027.

The latest decision follows two instances in which the United States did not participate in its scheduled review.

UN mechanism covers all 193 member states

The Universal Periodic Review is a peer-review mechanism through which the human rights records of all 193 UN member states are examined.

The process allows governments to present measures taken to strengthen human rights protections, address existing challenges and respond to recommendations from other countries.

Each state is subject to the same review framework, making participation an established part of the UN human rights monitoring system.