After high-profile charges of crimes committed by Russian soldiers during the war in Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly has suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
The measure suspends Russia’s membership in the UN Security Council and calls for a reconsideration if the UN deems it necessary.
On Tuesday, the US ambassador to the United Nations made a case in front of the UN Security Council for Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council, something she and other UN member states have been advocating for.
“Russia should not have a position of power in an organization whose sole mission is to promote human rights respect. It is not just the height of hypocrisy, but it is also hazardous “Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the ambassador, stated.
“We observe more and more every day how little Russia respects human rights,” she remarked.
“The Human Rights Council’s legitimacy is harmed by Russia’s involvement. It jeopardizes the United Nations as a whole. And it’s simply incorrect.”
The United Nations General Assembly voted 93 countries in favor, 24 against, and 58 abstentions on Thursday, April 7.
The General Assembly may “suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of a member of the Council who commits severe and systematic abuses of human rights,” according to a draft of the resolution.
The draft resolution also expresses “grave concern” about reports of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” as well as “violations of international humanitarian law” committed by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
Before Russia could be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council, two-thirds of the countries present in the General Assembly had to vote in favor.
Before the vote, Gennady Kuzmin, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, urged member states to vote no on the resolution, saying it would establish a “dangerous precedent.”
“Today is neither the time nor the place for theatrics or highly dramatic presentations such as the one put on by Ukraine. In fact, the draft resolution we’re discussing today has nothing to do with the current state of human rights on the ground “Kuzmin explained.
The vote to expel Russia from the Human Rights Council “is an attempt by the United States to maintain its dominating position and ultimate control in order to continue its attempt at human rights colonialism in international relations,” the Russian delegate stated.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch’s UN director, Louis Charbonneau, said that Russia’s suspension sends “a crystal-clear message” that they have “no business” on the council.
“The General Assembly has given a crystal-clear message to Russia’s leadership,” Charbonneau said, “that a nation whose military consistently commits horrendous rights breaches has no business on the UN Human Rights Council.”
“People all across the world have been stunned by photographs from Bucha. Victims and their families have a right to expect those guilty to be held accountable. Investigators from the United Nations and the International Criminal Court should start the wheels of justice in motion by gathering and preserving evidence of war crimes as soon as possible.”