Organization: Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
Item: Item 6: General Debate
Date: 23 March 2026
Speaker: Joseph Doyle
Oral Statement to the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada and the International Bar Association, NGOs in special consultative status
United States: Resume cooperation with the Universal Periodic Review
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute deeply regret the United States’ lack of cooperation with and engagement in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, undermining the central objective of General Assembly Resolution 60/251 that the Council review every State’s human rights obligations and commitments.
We deplore the United States’ ongoing erosion of human rights, violations of international human rights obligations, and actions that undermine the rule of law and are inconsistent with commitments under international human rights law, by:
- Violating and disrespecting constitutional and statutory constraints on executive power;
- Seeking to restrict voting rights;
- Attacking judges who seek to uphold the rule of law; and
- Undermining the independence of the legal profession, including punishing law firms for who they represent.
These violations should be documented through the UPR. We support the Council’s Decision[1] to urge the United States to resume cooperation with the UPR, and we urge the Council to ensure a timely, universal review of US human rights violations. This would help ensure that the United States are not rewarded for seeking to avoid review of their human rights record and would discourage other States from adopting a similar approach.
Thank you.
[1] OM/19/101
