Universal Periodic Review: Every Country Under the Spotlight

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), created with the Human Rights Council in 2006, was designed to answer the charge of selectivity: every UN member state, large or small, has its human rights record examined in turn, roughly every four and a half years. The review is a peer process. The state under review presents a report, other states ask questions and make recommendations, and the state says which recommendations it accepts. Information from UN bodies and civil society groups is also compiled.

Supporters note that participation has been almost universal, which is remarkable given that no country is forced to attend. Skeptics point out that friendly governments sometimes offer gentle recommendations to allies, and that accepting a recommendation is not the same as carrying it out. Researchers studying the UPR therefore focus on implementation: whether accepted recommendations actually lead to new laws or practices in later cycles.