Six weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and after reports of war crimes, the UN sent a clear signal: Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council will be suspended.
In response to reports of Russian human rights abuses in the Ukraine war, the UN General Assembly suspended Russia’s membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
A corresponding resolution, introduced by Great Britain and the USA, among others, was passed by the General Assembly on Thursday in New York. 93 members voted in favour, 24 against and 58 abstained. This resulted in the necessary two-thirds majority, for which abstentions were not counted.
The text of the resolution states that “the right of membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council is suspended”. Such a step had previously been called for many times by representatives of western countries. The leading Western industrialized countries (G7), including Germany, had also spoken out in favor of this in a statement before the vote: “We are convinced that it is now time to suspend Russia’s membership of the Human Rights Council.”
Russia loses rights of membership
While Russia will remain an official member of the Council until the end of its term, it will lose all rights of membership. For example, the country can no longer participate in meetings of the Human Rights Council, even as an observer.
The UN Human Rights Council is a Geneva-based subsidiary of the General Assembly, established in 2006 as the successor to the UN Human Rights Commission. It has 47 member states, each elected for three-year terms. Russia has been on the council again since 2020.
Source: Stern
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