GENEVA, Nov 10 - The United States will not participate in a United Nations meeting on Tuesday in which its human rights record under President Donald Trump was to be examined, officials and diplomats said, drawing criticism from rights groups who contend that abuses have increased to levels not seen in decades.
Washington withdrew from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council last year, citing what it described as an anti-Israel bias, and has again declined to take part in its own Universal Periodic Review (UPR) - a peer-led process that all UN member states undergo, including countries with authoritarian governments.
Diplomats and a draft UN document indicate that the United States' absence will likely lead to the session being postponed until January. A State Department spokesperson defended the decision, saying that attendance would amount to endorsing the council's work. "This irredeemable body makes a mockery of human rights through consistent failures to uphold its own 'values' as it pushes anti-American rhetoric," the spokesperson said, without addressing the criticisms aimed at the US record.
Although the 47-member Human Rights Council has not issued direct institutional criticism of Washington's rights performance, experts appointed by the council have raised concerns, including over migrant deportations. The United States has maintained that deportations are conducted in accordance with US immigration law.
About the UPR
The Universal Periodic Review requires all 193 UN member states to submit a report on their human rights situations every few years. Other member states then review those reports and offer non-binding recommendations. UN documents show that countries had planned to address issues related to abortion and the death penalty during the session.
United States and international non-governmental organizations submitted nearly 200 contributions to the UN covering topics from migration to racial discrimination, according to UN records referenced by diplomats.
Reaction from rights groups and campaigners
Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union told reporters in Geneva that the United States has seen "attacks on fundamental human rights and civil liberties unprecedented in generations," adding: "Enough is enough."
Campaigners including Noor Abdalla, wife of pro-Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil who was held in immigration detention last year, pressed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, to hold a briefing on the United States' human rights situation despite Washington's absence. Abdalla said that when the world's most powerful government is not held accountable "they think that they can do whatever they want." She made the remarks to reporters in Geneva.
Fourteen countries were scheduled to take part in the review process in Geneva this month. In the first term of President Trump, the United States submitted its UPR report; this year it has again opted out of the session.
Diplomats in Geneva expressed skepticism about pushing the issue aggressively in Washington's absence, noting that few states are willing to confront the United States directly. "The view is to leave the door open and hope they come back in two years," one diplomat said.