Statement by Ambassador Andrew Bremberg
At the Adoption of the UPR Report on the United States

On behalf of the United States, I would like to thank the many member states that have provided constructive recommendations during our third cycle review of the UPR on Monday.

I would also like to thank the UPR Secretariat, for your dedication and guidance throughout this process, and our Troika – the Bahamas, Germany, and Pakistan – for all your time and hard work preparing today’s report.

Because of the large number of recommendations received, and in keeping with standard practice during past UPR cycles, we will not be responding to each individual recommendation today.  We will return early next year to provide a more detailed response.

Specific recommendations aside, we are gratified to see the broad recognition of the United States’ unswerving support for human rights at home and abroad, made even stronger through recent initiatives, such as  President Trump’s “Safe Policing for Safe Communities” Executive Order aimed at developing and incentivizing critical policing reform; or criminal justice reform through the First Step Act; or our leadership in advancing freedom of religion or belief through the recently-launched International Religious Freedom Alliance, just to name a few.

We do appreciate the careful thought that went into many of the recommendations provided.  Over the next few months, representatives from multiple U.S. departments and agencies will give them careful consideration.  Our review of these recommendations will also consider the opinions of many government and nongovernmental partners, including faith-based organizations.

In that spirit, I would like to thank the many U.S.-based and international civil society representatives who engaged in our UPR throughout the process.  While we might not always agree, we continue to work to ensure the protection of human rights for every person in the United States.  Our dialogue with you is ongoing and will continue beyond the UPR process.

We are proud to participate in the UPR process, which we see as an extension of our longstanding tradition of respect and leadership for human rights globally.

As I said at the outset, it is our most solemn belief that every person across the globe is born free and equal in dignity and rights and is entitled to respect for his or her human rights and fundamental freedoms.  This principle has long guided, and will continue to guide, our domestic and foreign policy.  I am proud to be a citizen of a country whose ideals and action of protecting freedom and human dignity are so clear and so inspiring to so many.  We remain committed to advancing human rights worldwide, as well as accountability for those who abuse those rights.

We thank the UPR working group for its efforts to make the UPR a strong, and universal process for all nations and we look forward to continuing these efforts in the future.