Press Statement by Ambassador Andrew Bremberg
on the Universal Periodic Review of the United States
The United States thanks the many countries that provided constructive recommendations at the Universal Periodic Review of our human rights record on November 9. We were gratified to see such broad recognition of our unswerving support for human rights at home and abroad, made even stronger through recent initiatives, including our criminal justice reform and leadership in advancing freedom of religion or belief through the recently launched International Religious Freedom Alliance.
As we continue our cooperation with the UPR process and consider the many recommendations, we wish to offer some initial reactions to certain assertions made by a few delegations during the UPR. Notably, accusations that our administration of criminal justice suffers from systemic racism and criticisms of our policies on the southern border do not accurately reflect the situation in the United States. As we noted in our UPR statements, we continue to strive for racial equality for all Americans. Moreover, the United States does not support “family separation,” full stop. A number of member states also called for the United States to extend and promote unfettered access to abortion. As our delegation noted, abortion remains legal in the United States. However, we reject the proposition that abortion is a matter of international human rights and affirm that all lives, both born and unborn, should be protected.
We again thank the many states and nongovernmental stakeholders who participated in our UPR, and the UPR Secretariat at the UN who very ably facilitated the review. We look forward to engaging with multilateral organizations, UN member states, and civil society to continue to champion the cause of human rights around the world
