New York, NY, September 4, 2025 – Five nonprofit organizations that testified during the United States Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pre-Session in Geneva last week are denouncing the U.S. government’s unprecedented move to boycott the UPR proceedings. Calling out the United States’ escalating abuse of immigrants and asylum seekers, the nonprofits have pledged to continue fighting for accountability through a “People’s UPR” in October 2025. Representing a broader coalition of immigrant rights groups, the participating organizations include Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Physicians for Human Rights, Global Rights Advocacy, and Center for Victims of Torture.

Held regularly since 2008, the UN’s Human Rights Council conducts a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of each member state every four and a half years. These formal peer reviews are a platform for international accountability, with civil society organizations and nonprofits submitting reports on relevant human rights issues and violations. Following the review, other UN member states make recommendations to the country under review based on civil society reports and interactions with government representatives. In an unprecedented move, the United States has stated that it will not participate in its review this cycle, which was scheduled for November 2025.

“At a time when the United States government seeks to further escalate its mass deportation agenda and double its abusive immigration detention system, its unprecedented refusal to participate in the UPR is a staggering attempt to skirt international accountability,” said Sarah Decker, staff attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “The Trump administration has used every tool at its disposal to deter migration and punish those who come to this country seeking protection under international law. We cannot allow these human rights abuses to evade international peer review.”

“The United States’ refusal to participate in the UN human rights review process demonstrates a troubling evasion of accountability and a disregard for established international human rights norms,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “This absence is particularly alarming given the government’s escalating reliance on mass, for-profit immigrant detention, racially discriminatory enforcement practices, and systemic violations of due process. By failing to engage in this process, the U.S. not only undermines global human rights mechanisms but also signals to the international community that it is unwilling to confront its own record of abuse and mistreatment of immigrants seeking safe haven.”

“As physicians, we understand that objective and rigorous review with one’s peers – as the UPR is – is vital to protecting health,” said Dr. Michele Heisler, Medical Director at Physicians for Human Rights. “The U.S. government’s unprecedented refusal to participate in the UPR undermines the very foundation of international human rights oversight. In the United States, we’re witnessing a deeply troubling pattern: immigrant patients across communities are increasingly afraid to seek health care, conditions in immigration detention centers are increasingly inhumane, and people are being expelled from the country without any due process. The U.S. government’s boycott of this established review process and dialogue represents a troubling step away from the accountability frameworks that help ensure basic human dignity and health everywhere.”

In April, the coalition submitted a report urging the UN to address the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation of non-citizens in the United States. The participating organizations highlighted the U.S. government’s ongoing violations of non-citizens’ fundamental rights through mass arbitrary detention, denial of due process, abusive and discriminatory policing, labor exploitation, and suppression of civic space. 

“The report raises critical concerns about the U.S. government’s collaboration with notorious private prison companies, highlighting the inherent abuses where profit supersedes human dignity,” said Elizabeth Jimenez Mora, representing Global Rights Advocacy. 

In response to the U.S. government’s decision to boycott the UPR proceedings, civil society organizations are planning a series of events in the coming months, including a People’s UPR event in October during the Third Committee Session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, NY. During the event, organizations and directly impacted individuals will testify on human rights violations in the United States. United Nations, Country Mission, and Embassy staffers in both New York and Geneva will be invited to attend. The People’s UPR will be held on October 23, 2025, starting at 12 noon, at the Church Center of the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza, in New York, NY.