UN TO VOTE ON SUSPENDING RUSSIA FROM ITS HUMAN RIGHTS BODY

Thu 07 April 2022:

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will vote on Thursday on whether to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the call for Russia to be stripped of its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians. The videos and reporting from the town have sparked global revulsion and calls for tougher sanctions on Russia, which has vehemently denied responsibility.

“We believe that the members of the Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, and we believe that Russia needs to be held accountable,” Thomas-Greenfield said Monday. “Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce.”

General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said Wednesday the assembly’s emergency special session on Ukraine will resume at 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday when the resolution “to suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation” will be put to a vote.

The General Assembly voted 140-5 with 38 abstentions on March 24 on a resolution blaming Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.

The vote was almost exactly the same as for the March 2 resolution the assembly adopted demanding an immediate Russian cease-fire, withdrawal of all its forces and protection for all civilians. That vote was 141-5 with 35 abstentions.

Russia, as well as the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with veto power — the United Kingdom, China, France, and the United States – all have seats on the Human Rights Council, which the United States rejoined this year.

According to council spokesperson Rolando Gomez, the only country to have its membership rights revoked at the council was Libya in 2011, when instability in the North African country brought down longstanding leader Moammar Gadhafi.

In the history of the United Nations, no permanent member of the Security Council has ever had their membership revoked.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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