NEW YORK – The UN General Assembly has voted to suspend membership ofRussia from the Human Rights Council amid allegations of attackingcivilians in ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
The resolution titled ‘Suspension of the rights of membership of theRussian Federation in the Human Rights Council’ was initiated by the US andit was supported by European Union, Latin American countries and othernation.
The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minusabstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favourand 24 against.
Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, were among thosewho voted against.
However, fifty-eight countries abstained from the process. Thoseabstaining, included India, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt,Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Singapore,Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia.
With the adoption of the resolution, Russian has become first permanentmember of the UN Security Council to have its membership revoked from anywing of UN.
However, this is not the first time that a member state of UNGA has had itsmembership of the Human Rights Council suspended. Libya lost its seat in2011, following repression of protests by ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who waslater overthrown.
“The meeting marked the resumption of a special emergency session on thewar in Ukraine and followed reports of violations committed by Russianforces.
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This past weekend, disturbing photos emerged from the city of Bucha, asuburb of the capital, Kyiv, where hundreds of civilian bodies were foundin the streets and in mass graves following Russia’s withdrawal from thearea,” UN said in a press release.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the UN decision. Takingto Twitter, he wrote: “War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed atprotecting human rights. Grateful to all member states which supported therelevant UNGA resolution and chose the right side of history”.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has condemned the decision andvowed that Russia will continue to defend its interests by using all legalmeans.
Prior to the vote, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya urged countries tosupport the resolution.
“Bucha and dozens of other Ukrainian cities and villages, where thousandsof peaceful residents have been killed, tortured, raped, abducted androbbed by the Russian Army, serve as an example of how dramatically far theRussian Federation has gone from its initial declarations in the humanrights domain. That is why this case is unique and today’s response isobvious and self-explanatory,” he said.
Gennady Kuzmin, Deputy Russian ambassador, in remarks before the vote,called for countries to “vote against the attempt by Western countries andtheir allies to destroy the existing human rights architecture.”
