A UN meeting dedicated to reviewing the human rights situation in the United States opened on Friday without US participation. Human rights organizations called its absence an alarming sign of Washington's withdrawal from global engagement on these issues, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
The publication notes that the universal periodic review process is an opportunity for governments and human rights organizations to analyze the activities of all 193 UN member states every four to five years and recommend measures to improve them. Rarely does a state not attend the meeting.
A State Department official said the US was proud of its human rights record: "As a founding member of the United Nations and a leading advocate for individual freedoms, we will not allow Human Rights Council (HRC) members like Venezuela, China, or Sudan to lecture us on our human rights situation."
Amnesty International called the US absence a "dereliction of duty."
According to a UN document, the agenda included issues such as US President Donald Trump's policies, such as the deportation of migrants by flights and restrictions on LGBTQ rights, as well as long-standing problems such as the death penalty.
Each government is expected to submit a report on its activities, but the US did not.
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Addendum
Attempts by the head of the UN Human Rights Council, Jürg Lauber, to engage in dialogue with the US before the meeting were unsuccessful, as the document shows, and he postponed consideration of the issue until next year.
A US representative said the Council had protected human rights violators in the past, adding that its participation in international organizations was aimed at promoting American interests and values.
Sara Decker, a senior attorney at the non-profit organization Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, said the US absence should be of deep concern to all Americans. "It deprives us of additional oversight of human rights abuses that occur daily under this administration," she said.
Some American officials who oppose Trump came to the UN in Geneva to discuss with other states and NGOs what they called a human rights crisis.
"He (Trump) doesn't want to be held accountable for his continuous human rights violations," Larry Krasner, District Attorney of Philadelphia, told reporters. "We came because the President of the United States is not doing his job," he said.
Cuba's delegate at the meeting condemned the US absence, calling it "irresponsible behavior," and China said it regretted the US decision, which it said showed "disrespect."
Some diplomats were glad they didn't have to face the awkward task of commenting on Trump's actions. "It's a blessing for nervous NATO allies," one Western diplomat said.
In February, Trump ceased engagement with the Geneva Human Rights Council, as he did in his first term. Nevertheless, Washington still submitted a report to the government in 2020, stating that it was "committed to the principle of leading in human rights by example."