US to Skip UN Human Rights Review in Geneva Again

Washington has signalled it will miss its rescheduled peer review. Reuters reported that diplomats expected the Human Rights Council to defer a decision on how to proceed.

Editorial Staff

November 10, 2026

2–3 minutes

Geneva, Human Rights, United Nations, United States

Washington has signalled it will miss its rescheduled peer review. Reuters reported that diplomats expected the Human Rights Council to defer a decision on how to proceed.

Rows of national flags lead towards the Palais des Nations in Geneva. — The Allée des Nations outside the United Nations’ Palais des Nations in Geneva, photographed in October 2026. Photo by Rudolf H. Boettcher, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.

The United States is set to skip its scheduled United Nations human rights review in Geneva on Tuesday after the first appointment was postponed last year. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that attending would imply US endorsement of the Human Rights Council’s work. The administration withdrew from the council last year, citing what it called anti-Israel bias.

The appointment is part of the Universal Periodic Review, which covers all 193 UN member states. Governments ordinarily submit a report on their record. Other countries ask questions and make non-binding recommendations, drawing on national submissions, UN material and reports from civil society.

What countries planned to raise

Human Rights Watch urged the council to scrutinise the US record and opposed a further extension. Washington has separately said its deportation operations comply with US immigration law, Reuters reported.

The rights group urged the council to continue scrutiny even if Washington stayed away. The State Department defended the decision to sit out the meeting on the grounds that it objected to the council’s work. Washington has separately said its deportation operations comply with US immigration law, Reuters reported.

The council’s next decision

The first review date was in November 2025. The council rescheduled it after the United States failed to attend. Reuters reported on Tuesday that a draft UN document and diplomats pointed to another delay, potentially until January.

The council’s immediate question is how to apply a review designed for all member states when a government declines to take part. Another delay would leave the submissions on record and defer the public exchange in which other governments put their questions directly to the US delegation.