Last minute: The 193-member UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia’s membership of the Human Rights Council due to human rights violations in Ukraine. While 93 countries supported the removal of Russia from the Human Rights Council, 24 countries opposed it and 58 abstained.
REACTION BEFORE VOTING
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya, in his speech before the vote, compared the Human Rights Council to the Titanic and said that the council could only be saved from bankruptcy by the suspension of Russia’s membership.
Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Gennady Kuzmin, called on UN member states to oppose the step, saying, “We reject the unfounded allegations against us.”
Membership of a country elected to the UN Human Rights Council can be suspended by a two-thirds majority in the 193-member UN General Assembly.
This step was taken for Libya in 2011 and Libya was excluded from the membership of the UN Human Rights Council.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006. UN member states are elected as members of the Human Rights Council for a 3-year term by the UN General Assembly.
The Council, which has 47 members, has been criticized by both UN member states and non-governmental organizations for the periodic election of countries with poor human rights records as members.
The resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council are “recommendations” and are not legally binding. (AA)