Human rights organizations demand accountability from Washington despite its refusal to appear before UN review

The United States is set to boycott a UN review of its human rights record for the second consecutive time, after the Trump administration announced it would not participate in the Geneva session scheduled for Tuesday, drawing criticism from human rights organizations that called for continued scrutiny.

The United States is set to boycott a UN review of its human rights record for the second consecutive time, after the Trump administration announced it does not intend to participate in a session scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva, drawing criticism from human rights organizations that called for continued scrutiny of US policies despite the absence of Washington's representatives. AFP quoted the US State Department as confirming that the Trump administration does not intend to participate in the review, which is part of a UN mechanism that all UN member states undergo periodically. A State Department spokesperson said the US withdrew from the Human Rights Council last year and leveled harsh criticism at the council, calling it a biased body that promotes anti-American positions and harms the cause of human rights. These developments come after Washington boycotted its previous review in November 2025, prompting the Human Rights Council to postpone the session for a full year, hoping the US administration would return to participate. The new session is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 2:30 PM to 6:00 PM Geneva time, as part of the 53rd session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. Human rights activists, representatives of civil society organizations, and elected US officials met in Geneva on Monday to demand accountability from the US government for what they described as serious human rights violations.