US expected to skip first-ever UN rights review

The United States is set to become the first country to fully skip a regular review of its human rights record by the U.N. Human Rights Council, after declining to attend a rescheduled review. The Trump administration withdrew from the council, calling it biased against the United States and Israel and accusing it of failing to uphold human rights standards. The review process examines all U.N. member states and allows governments to answer questions and receive recommendations; without U.S. representatives, the council says the review cannot proceed. Critics warn that the snub could encourage other governments to evade scrutiny, while the American Civil Liberties Union has urged the U.N. to hold the United States accountable.