The United States will skip a United Nations meeting on Tuesday scheduled to examine its human rights record under President Donald Trump. The decision has drawn criticism from rights groups, which say violations have reached levels not seen in decades.

Washington withdrew from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council last year, citing what it called an anti-Israel bias. This marks the second consecutive year the US has skipped its own human rights review, a process attended by all UN member states, including authoritarian governments.

The US absence will likely force the meeting to be postponed until January, according to a draft UN document and diplomats.

A US State Department spokesperson said taking part would suggest that Washington supports the council's work.

"This irredeemable body makes a mockery of human ​rights through consistent failures to uphold its own 'values' as it pushes anti-American rhetoric," the spokesperson said. The official did not respond to allegations concerning the US human rights record.

The 47-member council has not directly criticised Washington's record. However, its appointed experts have raised concerns, particularly over migrant deportations. The US maintains that deportations follow its immigration laws.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) requires all 193 UN member states to submit reports on their human rights records every few years. Other countries examine these reports and offer non-binding recommendations.

UN documents show that countries planned to raise concerns about abortion and the death penalty during Tuesday's review. US and international non-governmental organisations also submitted nearly 200 reports to the UN, covering issues ranging from migration to racial discrimination.

"We've seen attacks on fundamental human rights and civil liberties unprecedented in generations," Jamil Dakwar of the American Civil Liberties Union told reporters in Geneva. "Enough is enough."

Fourteen countries are scheduled to undergo the review process in Geneva this month. During Trump's first term, the US submitted its report for the UPR.

Noor Abdalla, wife of pro-Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was held in immigration detention last year, is among the campaigners urging UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to hold an early briefing on the US human rights situation, even without Washington's participation.

"When the most powerful government in the world is not held accountable, they think that they can do whatever they want," Abdalla told reporters.

However, diplomats remain doubtful that countries will confront Washington over its decision.

"The view is to ​leave the door open and hope they come back in two years," said a diplomat.