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Expulsions from the UN Human Rights Council are extremely rare. So far, only Libya has been suspended, in 2011, because of the violence of the then Gaddafi regime. The fact that Russia, one of the five veto powers that are considered the cornerstones and centers of power in the UN system, has now been hit is a first.
Send a strong signal
For Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, the suspension primarily means a serious loss of face. That is exactly the aim of the exclusion resolution. It’s a strong signal. One that – exceptionally – marks loyalty to principles. For as long as the UN Human Rights Council has existed, there have been members who, according to the statutes, never ever belonged there: countries like Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, China and many others.
The reason for the inconsistency: The world’s most important human rights body should have broad support. It should not only include model students in terms of the rule of law. Otherwise, it was feared, everyone else would simply ignore the advice.
The fact that Russia is now being excluded because it violates human rights in a blatant and systematic manner is not the only reason for the demotion to passive membership. A number of other Member States are doing the same. On the other hand, Russia also attacked a neighboring country without reason and in a brutal manner. Therefore, many countries now wanted to at least set an example.
Russia is not alone
However, at least 24 governments sided with Russia. And this time not only rogue states like Belarus, Eritrea, Syria or North Korea, but several other, mainly Asian and African countries. Particularly important: Beijing is now for the first time in the UN in connection with the Ukraine war firmly behind Moscow, after abstaining and trying to give the impression of a neutral stance.
The result of the vote, clear as it was, shows that Russia is not alone. The arguments of his supporters are quite flimsy, at times bureaucratic. In some cases, however, it is simply a question of third-world countries deeply distrusting the West. Well over half a century after the end of colonialism, they still harbor deep resentments. And above all, they believe they can afford to position themselves against the US and other Western countries. The West is considered to be badly hit in world politics.
UN is weakened
The problem: As obvious as it is that Vladimir Putin’s Russia has no place in the Human Rights Council, his de facto expulsion has serious consequences for the UN. In any case, the world organization is unable to fulfill its central task of creating peace. The Security Council, its most powerful body, is completely paralyzed because of Russia’s right of veto in the Ukraine war. Secretary General António Guterres looks helpless.
It is unlikely that Moscow will now turn its back completely because of the offensive expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council – as it did at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as soon as it became clear that it was threatened with expulsion. Russia should stay. Because it can still achieve a lot in the UN apparatus and, above all, prevent a lot. It will not voluntarily reveal this influence.
But the ever more obvious divisions within the UN, the disregard or even contempt for human rights, the rule of law and international law on the part of numerous states, are immensely weakening the United Nations. The comparison may sound drastic: But the League of Nations did not survive the outbreak of the Second World War. There is now a danger that the UN will emerge badly damaged from the Ukraine war.