The United States has failed to appear for the Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record, becoming only the second country after Israel to ever boycott the regular UN process.

"We were supposed to meet today in order to proceed with the review of the United States. Nevertheless, I note that the delegation of the United States is not present in this room," said Jurg Lauber, president of the UN Human Rights Council, as he opened the session on Friday.

The US absence from its UPR, which all 193 United Nations member states are required to undergo every four to five years, was not a surprise, since Washington had said back in August it would boycott the process.

But it still angered a number of local US officials and rights groups who had come to Geneva to list their rising concerns since US President Donald Trump returned to power in January.

Several countries that had gathered to take part in the review also spoke up, with China's representative decrying Washington's "lack of respect for the UPR mechanism".

Cuba's representative also accused Washington of seeking "to undermine the Human Rights Council and the UN system and civil society as a whole", adding that it was "clear that the government of the United States is afraid of the result of this exercise".

After Lauber ascertained that there was no US delegation in the room, the council swiftly moved to adopt a decision on "non-cooperation of a state under review".

The council "called upon the state under review to resume its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism" and decided to reschedule the US UPR for late 2026, with the possibility of holding it sooner, it said in a statement.

The only other country to have failed to show up for its UPR was Israel in early 2013, although it eventually underwent a postponed review 10 months later.

The universal periodic review process is a chance for governments and rights groups to scrutinise all 193 UN member states' records every four to five years and recommend improvements.

It is rare for a state not to attend the session.

‘Blessing in disguise’

A State Department spokesperson said the US was proud of its human rights record.

"As a founding member of the United Nations and primary champion of individual liberties, we will not be lectured about our human rights record by the likes of HRC (Human Rights Council) members such as Venezuela, China or Sudan."

Policies under US President Donald Trump, such as flights to deport migrants as well as long-standing issues like the death penalty were on the agenda, according to a UN document.

Every government is expected to submit a report on its own record but the US did not.

Sarah Decker, senior staff attorney at non-profit organisation Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, said the US absence should be of deep concern to all Americans.

"It strips away an additional level of oversight for the human rights abuses happening every day under this administration," she said.

Some diplomats were relieved to be spared the awkward task of commenting on Trump's record. "It’s a blessing in disguise for nervous NATO allies," said one Western diplomat.