The United States is scheduled to become the first country to fully shun a regular review of its human-rights record at the United Nations’ top rights body since the process was created two decades ago. [E1]
According to the Human Rights Council, the review requires participation by the country concerned and cannot proceed without national representatives. [E6]
Last year, the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the Council, accusing it of anti-U.S. and anti-Israel bias and alleging that it did not uphold its own values. [E2] A State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press that Washington gave the agency “no credibility.” [E4] The spokesperson called the Council an “irredeemable body” and alleged that it failed to condemn the most serious rights violators. [E5]
Washington had already skipped its appointment for this review a year earlier. [E3]
Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s human-rights program, said the administration was signalling that it did not care about scrutiny of alleged violations. [E7] He called on the Council to hold the United States accountable. [E8]
Dawn reported that the United States would not appear for a second year to answer questions about systemic rights violations. [E9] All 193 United Nations member states undergo the Universal Periodic Review every four to five years, Dawn reported. [E10]