GENEVA, Nov 7 (Bernama-dpa) — The United States has become the second country after Israel to refuse to take part in a United Nations review of its human rights record, leaving its seats empty at a scheduled session of the UN Human Rights Council’s working group in Geneva on Friday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The US also failed to submit a national report ahead of the meeting, the working group said, formally noting Washington’s “non-cooperation”. The decision carries no direct consequences, and the group invited the US to rejoin the process at a later date.
In a statement, the US mission in Geneva said the UN “feigned care for human rights” while allowing known violators to use the organisation to “shield themselves from scrutiny”.
The statement also accused the UN of “unrelenting bias against Israel”.
Since 2008, all 193 UN member states have been required to undergo a so-called Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of their human rights record roughly every five years. Countries present reports on their progress, while others may raise questions and make recommendations.
Israel was previously the only country to skip its review, in 2013, before resuming cooperation several months later.
The US withdrew from the rights council shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Withdrawal, however, does not exempt any UN member country from the UPR process.
Human rights advocates warned that autocratic governments might now follow the US example and refuse to participate in future reviews.
— BERNAMA-dpa