Global Advocacy Milestone: ACLJ Documents Human Rights Abuses for Every Nation at the U.N.

The ACLJ has reached a milestone years in the making.

With our latest submissions to the United Nations, we have now completed Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports for every country reviewed by the U.N., finishing an entire review cycle. It’s an achievement built on years of research, advocacy, and the belief that people suffering persecution and human rights abuses deserve to be seen, heard, and defended.

Every few years, the U.N. Human Rights Council reviews the human rights record of all its Member States through its UPR mechanism. The review of each country is scrutinized by all other countries, including recognized NGOs such as our international affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). We write reports identifying human rights problems, abuses, and even positive progress of a country’s human rights record. These reports become part of the U.N. record on a country and are often cited by the Human Rights Council in its own reports.

The ACLJ began its involvement in the UPR process in 2009. In 2021, we set a goal to submit a report for every country under review at the U.N. Over the past few years, we have spent time researching, monitoring, and submitting reports for every country. 

Completing reports for all 192 countries involved continuous monitoring of legal changes, reviewing the domestic laws of each country, and documenting instances of human rights abuses. Each report tells the story of real people suffering around the world.

Our submissions focus on issues that are important to the ACLJ and its supporters. We advocate for the protection of life from conception to natural death, expose human trafficking and modern slavery, document the persecution of Christians, and call out governments that violate the fundamental right to freedom of religion.

Once submitted, these reports become part of an international record that governments cannot easily dismiss. Most importantly, they ensure that victims of persecution are represented at the U.N., where governments are expected to be held accountable for their actions.

Reaching this milestone is something we’re proud of, but it is also a reminder of why this work matters. Behind every report are Christians denied the freedom to worship, women trapped in human trafficking, or preborn babies denied the right to life. Those are the people we represent through this process, and they are the reason we continue to do this.

This milestone is not the finish line.

A new UPR cycle will begin soon, and once again every country will be reviewed. The ACLJ will continue to submit reports for every country, recognizing progress where it is made and exposing governments that fail to protect the rights of every human being.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign our petition: Defend Persecuted Christians Worldwide From Targeted Violence and Abuse.