U.S. set to become first nation to refuse a U.N. Human Rights Council review

Key Points:

• The United States is set to become the first country to fully skip its regular human rights review at the U.N. Human Rights Council since the council's inception two decades ago, following its 2020 withdrawal from the body under the Trump administration.
• The U.S. government accuses the council of anti-American and anti-Israel bias and claims it fails to uphold its own human rights values, leading to the decision not to participate in the universal periodic review process scheduled for June 2024.
• The Human Rights Council's review process requires active participation from the country under review, and the U.S. absence means its human rights record will not be examined or discussed this cycle.
• Critics warn that the U.S. refusal to engage could undermine the council's credibility and encourage other countries to avoid scrutiny, while human rights advocates urge the council to hold the U.S. accountable despite its non-participation.
• Experts highlight that the U.S. walkout damages the global human rights review system's legitimacy, as the absence of a major power that claims to uphold human rights norms challenges the effectiveness of international monitoring efforts.