After 26 years of membership
Council of Europe excludes Russia
03/16/2022, 3:45 p.m
The Council of Europe monitors compliance with human rights in its member states. After the invasion of Ukraine, the organization suspended Russia. Moscow then declares its withdrawal, which the Council of Europe accepts. It’s not the only membership Russia wants to cancel.
The Council of Europe has expelled Russia from membership with immediate effect after 26 years because of the Ukraine war. The Committee of Ministers decided this in a special session, the Council of Europe announced in Strasbourg. The day before, Russia had already declared its withdrawal from the Council of Europe after it had taken steps to exclude it.
On Tuesday evening, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted unanimously to exclude Russia. Russia joined the Council of Europe on February 28, 1996. Along with the formal notification of resignation, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe received information from the Russian Federation on Tuesday about the intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the heads of the Council of Europe again condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They expressed their solidarity with the Russian population, who continued to belong to the European family and shared their values. Ukraine will continue to stand by in the fight against the aggressor.
The Council of Europe monitors compliance with human rights in its 47 member states and is not part of the EU. Two weeks ago, the body reacted to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine by suspending Russian membership. This decision was considered historic. Moscow then announced that as a reaction, it no longer wanted to participate in the work of the committee. “Russia will not participate in the transformation of Europe’s oldest organization by NATO and its obediently following EU into another platform for Western dominance and narcissism,” the foreign ministry said. Russia repeatedly complains of alleged discrimination.