The UN General Assembly voted on the 7th to suspend Russia’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council. Russia slammed the move as “illegitimate and politically motivated”; the United States said it was not only about holding Russia accountable, but also showing support for Ukraine. According to the official website of the United Nations, of the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly, 93 voted in favor, 24 opposed, and 58 abstained.
Those who voted against included Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Vietnam; those who abstained included India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq , Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, etc.
●U.S. praises step in right direction
The Associated Press reported that U.S. President Joe Biden said the vote represented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conduct of war on Ukraine, which led to Russia’s international rejection. Biden vowed to continue to work with other countries to gather evidence to hold Russia accountable, increase pressure on the Russian economy and isolate Russia on the international stage.
Agence France-Presse mentioned that Biden said in a statement praising the results of the UNGA vote: “There is undeniable evidence of what happened in Ukraine, and Russia’s lies cannot be compared at all.” The statement also said: “With the withdrawal of Russian troops, , the horrific sight in places like the town of Bucha in Ukraine, signs of people being sexually assaulted, tortured, executed, including in some cases their remains humiliated, are an affront to our shared humanity.”
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the passing of the resolution as a “significant historic moment.” She said it was not only about holding Russia accountable, but also showing support for the Ukrainian people.
“The international community took a collective step in the right direction today. We have ensured that a country that continues such egregious violations of human rights has no place in the United Nations human rights leadership,” said Thomas Greenfield.
●Russia is dissatisfied with the suspension and quits altogether
After the vote, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Gennady Kuzmin, described the move as “illegitimate and politically motivated” before announcing that Russia had decided to withdraw completely from the United Nations Human Rights Council, Archyde.com reported. Council).
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that no one resigned after being fired.
Russia is currently in the second year of a three-year term at the UN Human Rights Council, which was supposed to end in 2023. According to the resolution, the UN General Assembly could have agreed to end the suspension later, but with Russia withdrawing from the council, that is no longer possible.
●Ukraine: Rwanda’s “Lessons from the Past”
On the 7th, the 28th anniversary of the Rwanda massacre, Kislitzya compared Ukraine’s suffering to this dark page in recent history.
Kislitzya said the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 was “largely due to the indifference of the international community, when the UN did not respond to the warnings issued by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly the year before. Now, as far as Ukraine is concerned, it is less than a year because the tragedy unfolds before our very eyes.”
● EU, UK reaction
The European Union’s ambassador to the United Nations, Olof Skoog, said the scale and gravity of Russia’s human rights violations in Ukraine, as well as its violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, have elicited a strong and unanimous response from the international community.
“Today’s rare decision by the General Assembly sends a strong signal of accountability, which hopefully will help prevent and deter further human rights violations,” he said.
James Roscoe, representing the UK, said: “Russia has no place in the Human Rights Council and today’s vote sends another message to Putin: those who support him or speak on his behalf must stop killing innocent civilians. End this war.”
●China, India, Cuba response
According to the official website of the United Nations, Zhang Jun, the Chinese representative to the United Nations, said in a speech before the vote that China firmly opposes the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights issues, opposes the use of selectivity, double standards and confrontation on human rights issues, and opposes using human rights issues to target other countries. pressure.
The representative of India said that India had abstained from voting; if India were to choose a side, it would be the side of peace, and that the violence should cease immediately.
The Cuban representative said: “Today is Russia, tomorrow it could be any of our countries, especially those of the South that do not bow to the interests of domination and staunchly defend their independence.”
Responsible editor: Yu Weining
Russia invades Ukraine
UN General Assembly votes to suspend Russia through Human Rights Council
The British Ministry of Defense said that the Russian troops have fully withdrawn from the north of Ukraine and redeployed to the east of the country
Fox reporter survived! Broken hands, broken feet, blind colleagues, and both dead, consider themselves “lucky”
Sanction again!EU plans to completely ban Russian coal imports by mid-August
Sticking to the belly of a civil aviation aircraft as “cover”?Russian media: NATO fighter jets flew into Russian airspace
Today’s recommended video