UPR: Universal Periodic Review

U.S. Government Universal Periodic Review Took Place May 11, 2015

Click here to see the US Human Rights Network Press Conference held in Geneva on May 11 after the U.S. Government was reviewed for the second time on its human records through the UPR.

The UPR is a full review of the human rights record of all countries that are members of the United Nations. The second U.S. government review took place in Geneva on May 11, 2015. The U.S. Government submitted their report to the UN on February 2, 2015, it can be found here. USHRN sent a delegation to Geneva March 16-20, 2015 to advocate prior to the UPR review in May, and another delegation to the review in May. The troika - or three country delegates assisting the U.S. review - were selected in January 2015 (Botswana, Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia).

USHRN prepared a civil society summary submission for the process. Please see the U.S. Government's formal report for the 2015 UPR, the UN summary stakeholders' information on the U.S., and the stakeholder reports from U.S. civil society that informed the summary.

View the Draft UPR Report and 343 Recommendations on the US - Adopted May 21, 2015 here. (USHRN has compiled a brief overview of the report based on number of recommendaitons by issue area.)

The United States Government submitted their responses to the recommendaitons on August 31, 2015 and the UN Human Rights Council final report on the United States was adopted in Geneva at the 30th session on September 24, 2015.

The next US Universal Periodic Review will take place during the UN Human Rights Council 36th session in Geneva (Apr-May 2020)  - the optional state party mid-term report report is due May 2018. US civil scoiety stakeholder submissions "shadow report" to the UN are due September 19, 2019 and the US Government national report is due February 2020 (tbc).

US 3rd UPR Cycle Timeline (May 2015 - May 2020) credit UPR Info

Get Involved

  • Join the UPR Listserv. USHRN will post periodic updates through the listserv to keep members and partners abreast of UPR activities.
  • Sign up for a working group! The deadline to submit reports for the UPR has passed, but there is still time to join a working group, lobby, and create advocacy documents. The USHRN UPR Taskforce is working with our UPR Working Groups to ensure that UN member states have the information they need to make strong human rights recommendations during the review.
  • Click here to see a list Working Group chairs and co-chairs.
  • Check out our Calendar of Events in the US and Geneva for March - May 2015
  • Can't make it to Geneva? Watch the UPR live here on May 11th at 3 -6:30am ET

Resources

For 2017:

For 2016:

For 2015:

News

For 2015

From 2010:

Background: The UPR takes place every four years and offers an important opportunity to measure how the United States is meeting human rights obligations, including those related to economic, social and cultural rights. It offers opportunity to pressure the government to meet fully those obligations. USHRN coordinates and facilitates human rights and social justice groups' in the U.S. efforts to inform and influence the Review process, and seeks to raise awareness of the international mechanism and its relevance to local groups work. The troika - or three country delegates assisting the U.S. review - for the 2015 Review were selected in January 2015 (Botswana, Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia).The U.S. was first reviewed in 2010. USHRN coordinated groups efforts to influence the Review, which culminated in a 423 page civil society compilation submission.  USHRN prepared a civil society summary submission. Both the full compilation and the summary were submitted to the UN in April 2010. Click here to read the U.S. Government formal report submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

(Image credit: Wikimedia)

UPR: Universal Periodic Review
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