Ihis decision is historic. On Thursday April 7, the UN General Assembly decided to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. A decision driven by the United States because of “flagrant and systematic” violations of human rights and international humanitarian law since the invasion of Russian forces in Ukraine. The vote collected 93 votes in favor, and 24 countries voted against this decision. This is the second time that such a suspension has been decided, after that of Libya in 2011.
And 58 countries abstained, but the abstentions, a choice denounced by kyiv, were not taken into account in the two-thirds majority required among the only votes for and against. Among the countries that voted against is China, which denounced a “hasty approach”, the putting “oil on the fire” as well as a “dangerous precedent”. Iran, Kazakhstan and Cuba also voted against. Unsurprisingly, Russia, Belarus and Syria opposed the proposed resolution on ballot. Ukraine said it was “grateful” for the decision, saying “war criminals” should not be represented there. “War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba reacted on Twitter.
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Suspension increases Moscow’s ‘isolation’
The Kremlin regretted this decision, warning that Moscow intended to “continue to defend its interests by all legal means”. Russia views the suspension as “illegal and politically motivated, aimed at ostentatiously punishing a sovereign UN member state that pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy.” Moscow has decided on an “early termination” of this Council.
Washington says Russia’s suspension from the Human Rights Council in Geneva is more than symbolic and has increased Moscow’s “isolation” on the international scene since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine . Russia is accused of war crimes and abuses against civilians in Ukrainian areas it has occupied, such as Boutcha, which hastened Washington’s move to have it suspended from the Human Rights Council.
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