GENEVA - The Human Rights Council adopted a decision on "non-cooperation of a State under review with the universal periodic review [UPR] mechanism" at an organizational meeting held on 7 November in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The meeting was originally scheduled for the 50th session of the Working Group of the UPR to examine the human rights record of the United States of America.
While expressing regret at the decision of the United States of America ("the State under review") not to participate in the UPR during the 50th session of the Working Group (3-14 November 2025), the Human Rights Council "called upon the State under review to resume its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/251 and Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and the annex thereto."
The Council further requested "the President of the Human Rights Council to take all appropriate steps and measures, in accordance with his mandate, to urge the State under review to resume its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism and to report on the results of his efforts to the Council at its regular sessions."
In the adopted decision, the Council decided to reschedule the UPR of the United States of America, with a view to conducting it in 2026, to the 53rd session of the Working Group, while leaving open the possibility for it to be scheduled sooner.
The UPR is a "peer review" process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States by all other States. It is based on equal treatment for all countries. It provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.
The States that have been reviewed by the UPR Working Group during the 50th session thus far are Belarus, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia, Panama, the Maldives, Andorra, Bulgaria, and Honduras. The States to be reviewed at the remainder of this session are the Marshall Islands, Croatia, Jamaica and Libya.
The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) National Report - information provided by the State under review; 2) Compilation of UN Information - information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the special procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; 3) Summary of Stakeholders' Information - information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations, and civil society groups.
The Compilation of UN Information and Summary of Stakeholders' Information for the fourth-cycle UPR of the United States of America are available online at https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/us-index. The United States of America did not submit a National Report before the scheduled date of its review on 7 November 2025.
Learn more about the UPR: www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/upr-main
