On November 7, 2025, a dramatic scene unfolded on the world stage as the United States, long seen as a champion—if sometimes a flawed one—of human rights, chose to skip its scheduled Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The UPR, established in 2006, is a unique process that requires every one of the 193 UN member states to undergo a thorough review of their human rights record every four to five years. In a move that shocked diplomats, activists, and even some former US officials, the US became only the second country in history, after Israel in 2013, to refuse participation.
The absence was not just symbolic. It marked the end of nearly two decades of unbroken US engagement with the process and came at a time when concerns over America’s human rights record have been mounting. According to Gulf Times, US officials and rights defenders gathered in Geneva to voice their dismay, with many denouncing Washington’s decision to snub the review. "It sends the wrong message and weakens a process that has helped drive progress on human rights worldwide—including in the United States," wrote Uzra Zeya, head of Human Rights First, in an email to the press. Zeya, along with other activists and local US officials, organized events at the UN to ensure their concerns would still be heard, despite the official US seat being empty.
The US government’s decision to skip the review was rooted in a February 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump, which withdrew the country from several UN agencies, including the Human Rights Council. The administration accused the council of failing to live up to its mission and of harboring bias against US allies, particularly Israel. In a statement released on the day of the review, the State Department asserted that the US would not accept lectures about its human rights record from countries it accused of worse abuses, such as Venezuela, China, and Sudan. The White House echoed these sentiments, claiming the UN bodies had "drifted from their mission" and "propagated anti-Semitism."
Yet, for many, the timing and rationale for the withdrawal raised questions about accountability and the US’s willingness to face international scrutiny. As reported by News India Times, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson used the moment to draw global attention to what he described as "abusive immigration crackdowns" in his city. Speaking virtually before the Human Rights Council, Johnson invited a panel of independent UN experts to investigate federal enforcement tactics in Chicago, which he said violated "the dignity of all Chicagoans."
Since early September, the Department of Homeland Security had launched "Operation Midway Blitz," a sweeping enforcement campaign in the Chicago area. According to the Department, the operation resulted in the arrest of 3,000 undocumented immigrants throughout Illinois and northern Indiana. But critics, including Johnson, described the methods as aggressive and dehumanizing. ICE agents reportedly conducted violent raids, used chemical irritants to disperse protesters, and even made arrests on or near school grounds—an act once considered off-limits. One widely reported incident involved the arrest of a teacher after agents chased her onto the grounds of a private preschool. (DHS disputed she was arrested inside, stating she was detained in a vestibule.)
Johnson’s address to the council was pointed. "No country should be above international law. Human rights are universal—or they are meaningless," he declared. He described a military-style raid in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, where federal agents targeted the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Out of 37 immigrants arrested, only two were confirmed gang members, yet dozens of US citizens’ apartments were also swept up in the operation. Johnson recounted, "Helicopters circled overhead. Doors were kicked in. Homes were destroyed. Immigrant residents were detained in one van, while Black families—including young children—were held in another." The mayor also detailed an incident on the city’s West Side where a Black man was placed in a chokehold near the Westside Center for Justice, and another where federal agents rammed into a woman’s vehicle before taking her into custody.
Federal officials defended their tactics, with DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin criticizing Johnson for "demonizing ICE and CBP law enforcement." She argued that federal officers were facing increasing assaults as they worked to meet the administration’s deportation goals. The White House, too, pointed to Chicago’s crime rate as evidence of the city’s own human rights crisis, suggesting that perhaps the UN should turn its investigative lens there instead.
But the concerns voiced in Geneva and beyond extended far past Chicago. As Gulf Times reported, activists and civil society groups highlighted a string of alarming developments across the US: militarized immigration crackdowns, repression of dissent, the deployment of national guards in cities, crackdowns on universities and art institutions, and even lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Hundreds of organizations had submitted reports documenting abuses ranging from arbitrary detention to regression in sexual, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as systemic racial discrimination, excessive use of force during protests, attacks on free speech, and the persistence of the death penalty.
Recent statistics cited by News India Times and other outlets underscored the gravity of the situation. As of October 2025, over 1,000 people had been killed by police in the US—a grim milestone that has been surpassed for twelve consecutive years. Black Americans, who make up roughly 12% of the population, accounted for about 20% of those killed by police in 2025, with Hispanic communities similarly overrepresented. The US prison population remains close to two million, with racial minorities disproportionately affected.
Amnesty International called the US boycott of its UPR "shocking," accusing Washington of "walking away from even the impression of caring about the safety and security of people in the US and around the world." Human Rights Watch warned that the move would only generate international criticism and further erode America’s place on the world stage. Larry Krasner, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, was even more blunt, accusing President Trump of wanting to "escape accountability" for human rights violations and likening his approach to that of "Adolf Hitler."
Despite the US’s absence, activists and local officials refused to let the moment pass quietly. Chandra Bhatnagar, head of the ACLU’s Southern California branch, said, "It’s the Human Rights Council, the United Nations system and a community of nations committed to human rights and democracy who can bring necessary sunlight to these abuses." Robert Saleem Holbrook of the Abolitionist Law Center agreed, insisting that as "we see our civil liberties being decimated, these forums are going to take on increasing importance in the future."
In the end, the Human Rights Council postponed the US review until November 2026, warning that further action could be taken if the US continues to refuse cooperation. The episode has left many wondering about the future of international human rights accountability—especially when one of its most influential architects chooses not to show up.
