US PUSHES TO SUSPEND RUSSIA FROM HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Mon 04 April 2022:

The United States will ask the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, Washington’s ambassador to the world body has said.

“Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly vote to remove them,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during a visit to Bucharest.

Russia is currently in the second year of a three-year term on the Geneva-based council.

Speaking to reporters in Bucharest, Thomas-Greenfield said Monday the U.S. will formally request the U.N. General Assembly to remove Russia from the Human Rights Council and said she plans to address Russia’s actions at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday morning.

Thomas-Greenfield cited Bucha, where Ukrainian authorities said the bodies of 410 dead civilians have been recovered so far following mass executions by Russian troops, as the reason for the removal request, explaining, “The images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action.”

A two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member assembly in New York can suspend a state from the council for persistently committing gross and systematic violations of human rights during its membership.

Russia is under investigation for committing war crimes in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court and the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, and Human Rights Watch has found evidence of Russian forces violating international law. The Human Rights Council consists of 47 member states, and Russia began its three-year term on the council in 2021.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators called for Thomas-Greenfield last week to formally push for Russia’s removal from the Human Rights Council. The rights body includes nations such as China and Sudan who have been accused of mass human rights violations. The United States withdrew from the council in 2018, partially citing human rights abusers’ membership, but rejoined the body in 2021.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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