America’s Human Rights Hypocrisy: The Judge Who Won’t Stand Tria

Last week, on November 7th, the United States failed to appear before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva for its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). But what exactly is this review, and why did the U.S. choose to skip it?

The Universal Periodic Review, established in 2006, is designed to promote and protect human rights across all UN member states. Conducted every four to five years, it assesses each country’s human rights record, regardless of its global standing or political power. Washington’s decision to abstain from participation reflects a deliberate refusal to accept external scrutiny — a move that raises serious questions about America’s own commitment to the very principles it claims to champion.

This marks the fourth time the U.S. has been scheduled for review since the Council’s creation two decades ago. According to Council officials, Israel was the only other country to ever reject the process — in 2013 — though it eventually took part nine months later. America’s absence has stunned the international human rights community, fueling widespread criticism and concern. It brings an abrupt end to nearly two decades of U.S. engagement and comes at a time when global doubts about Washington’s human rights record are already intensifying.

By refusing to appear, the U.S. effectively hands authoritarian regimes around the world a convenient excuse to dodge accountability themselves. This pattern is hardly surprising given the Trump administration’s earlier withdrawal from the Human Rights Council and its decision to boycott the UPR process entirely. President Trump’s February executive order formalized America’s exit — the second time in a decade that Washington abandoned the Council, after the 2018 withdrawal over its “anti-Israel bias.” The Biden administration had briefly rejoined, but the second Trump term has again reversed course.

Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations at Amnesty International USA, condemned the move:

“This is unprecedented — the U.S. risks becoming the first nation in UN history to completely dodge its human rights review. The Trump administration has doubled down on its contempt for international accountability, undermining the very system designed to ensure it.”

The absence drew dozens of American rights groups and local officials to Geneva to voice their growing alarm. Azra Zia, head of the “Human Rights Priority” group, said:

“This marks a full retreat from multilateral leadership. The administration’s attacks on free expression, its weaponization of federal funding, and the massive deportation campaigns have created a climate of intimidation unseen in modern U.S. history.”

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, newly re-elected this week, remarked that Trump “is a criminal running from accountability,” but expressed hope that “the moral authority of the people” would “restrain a violent president who seems to admire Adolf Hitler.”

Meanwhile, Holly Mitchell, supervisor of Los Angeles County’s 2nd District, said:

“When your president sends tanks into the streets, expels people from their homes, and detains them without counsel, it’s clear we are in trouble. The world’s eyes and voices are needed to hold him accountable.”

Hundreds of NGOs submitted reports documenting the U.S.’s alarming human rights record — from arbitrary detentions and attacks on reproductive rights to systemic racial discrimination, abusive immigration raids, excessive police force, and the persistence of capital punishment. The picture that emerges is deeply troubling.

As of October 2025, over 1,000 Americans had been killed by police — marking the 12th consecutive year of rising fatalities. Many victims were unarmed, mentally ill, or in need of assistance rather than force. Racial disparities remain stark: though African Americans represent roughly 12% of the U.S. population, they account for around 20% of those killed by law enforcement. Hispanic communities face similar patterns of over-policing and mistreatment.

With nearly two million people behind bars, the United States continues to host the largest prison population on Earth — surpassing even India and China. Racial minorities are disproportionately represented in these prisons, revealing the systemic bias deeply woven into the American justice system.

Ultimately, a country that has long claimed to be the global guardian of human rights — often using that claim to justify invasions and regime change — now refuses to answer for its own abuses. Even Israel, after initially rejecting its review, eventually complied. The U.S., by contrast, now goes further than Tel Aviv in its defiance.

Washington’s boycott not only damages its global credibility but also emboldens dictatorships worldwide to repress their citizens without fear of consequence. A superpower that will not be held accountable cannot credibly lecture the rest of the world on freedom and justice.

Translated by Ashraf Hemmati from the original Persian article written by Mohammad Saleh Ghorbani
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-skips-human-rights-review-body-countries-appeal-127310419

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/trump-administration-fails-to-participate-in-un-human-rights-review/

https://www.courthousenews.com/outrage-as-us-snubs-un-rights-review/

https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2025/11/09/us-human-rights-record-under-fire