UPR: The United States of America has withdrawn its participation from the upcoming Universal Periodic Review
On August 28, 2025, during a pre-session meeting in Geneva, it was announced that the United States of America has withdrawn its participation from the upcoming Universal Periodic Review. This information was shared by Juliette de Rivero from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
This is a significant change from the USA’s previous involvement. In 2020, during President Trump’s first term, the USA submitted its UPR report even though it had left the Human Rights Council. If the USA follows through with this new decision, it will be the first time a UN Member State has not participated in its own UPR.
The United States’ decision has sparked strong criticism: Human Rights First condemned this move, seeing it as a severe problem to American credibility on human rights and accountability. This decision is seen also as a sign of distrust, which could encourage other governments that violate human rights to do the same. Moreover, weakening the UPR process risks denying civil society in countries like China, Russia, Egypt, and Venezuela of a fundamental platform to hold their governments responsible.
Other criticism came from the European Parliament. Indeed, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States expressed deep concern over this decision. They view it as a “worrying retreat from Washington’s global engagement on rights and justice issues”. Moreover, the European officials highlighted that this decision, coupled with the U.S. withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council and other recent actions, sends a very worrying message to the world.
Despite the government’s withdrawal, American human rights advocates still attended the pre-session meeting in Geneva. They shared information about human rights issues in the USA, including topics like food rights, climate change, poverty, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive health, racism, immigration, and civil society freedoms.
About the UPR
The Universal Periodic Review is a process created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2006. Every 4.5 years, each UN Member State’s human rights record is reviewed. The UPR allows countries to discuss their human rights progress, challenges, and receive feedback from other countries. It aims to improve human rights situations worldwide through dialogue and cooperation.