GENEVA — A U.N. meeting to review the United States’ human rights record opened without the U.S. on Friday, with rights groups calling the absence a worrying sign of Washington’s retreat from global engagement on such issues.

The universal periodic review process is a chance for governments and rights groups to scrutinize all 193 U.N. member states’ records every four to five years and recommend improvements. It is rare for a state not to attend the session.

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. 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.”

Amnesty Internatio

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