U.N. Kicks Russia Off Human Rights Council

 The United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council, the first time a country has been bounced from the U.N.’s premier rights body since 2011, when the government of former Libyan strongman, Muammar al-Qaddafi, was pushed out.

The 193-member assembly adopted a U.S.-sponsored resolution suspending Russia’s membership in the rights council for the commission of “gross and systematic violations of human rights.” The resolution was adopted by a vote of 93 to 24, with 58 abstentions.

The measure constituted a stunning rebuke of Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council that wields enormous diplomatic influence at the United Nations. It came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a chilling account to the U.N. Security Council of what he characterized as war crimes in the town of Bucha, Ukraine, following the withdrawal of Russian forces there. Following his talk, the Ukrainian delegation broadcast a brief video before the council documenting grisly scenes of civilian killings in cities across Ukraine.

The vote fell short of the overwhelming majority of U.N. members who ruled in March—by a vote of 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions—to condemn Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and demand the withdrawal of its troops. But it still represented a significant outcome, contributing to Russia’s growing diplomatic isolation and denying it an opportunity to defend its activities in Ukraine as a member of the rights council.

Still, the U.N. General Assembly’s vote underscored the continued ambivalence that many states—particularly in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia—have about rallying behind the United States and Europe in ratcheting up economic, political, and military pressure on Russia. The overwhelming majority of co-sponsors of the resolution came from Western powers, particularly Europeans, as well as close U.S. allies in Asia, including South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.

Mexico, which abstained on the vote, said shunning a U.N. member was counterproductive. “To exclude, to suspend, is not the solution,” Mexico’s U.N. ambassador, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, told the U.N. General Assembly. “Even in the midst of war, all channels should be maintained for dialogue with Russia.”

Although the United States secured the backing of Israel, which had previously declined to co-sponsor a U.S.-sponsored resolution in the days following the Russian invasion, its other allies in the Middle East—including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—abstained. The vast majority of African nations—including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Sudan—abstained on the vote, and nearly 10—including Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe—voted to block the initiative.

GONEWSWEB.COM