The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday voted to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) amid allegations that its soldiers killed civilians while retreating from the region around Ukraine’s capital.
A vote on whether or not to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council took place after the US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a case for seeking the suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council in front of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
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The UNGA voted in favour by two-thirds to remove Russia from the Human Rights Council.
With 93 countries voting in favour, 24 against and 57 abstaining on the resolution, UNGA suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council.
Notably, condemning the killings in Ukraine’s Bucha and supporting the call for an independent investigation, India abstained from voting on the resolution.
Hundreds of civilian residents were found dead on the streets in Bucha, beside their homes, and in mass graves. Ukraine accused Russia of the Bucha massacre. However, Russia has denied the allegations and said that it was Ukrainian propaganda.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.
Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised to help Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia
The vote, which makes Moscow the first permanent member of the UN Security Council to ever have its membership revoked from any United Nations body, was immediately welcomed by Kyiv but criticised by Moscow.
“War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights. Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA resolution and chose the right side of history,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed regret about the decision. “We’re sorry about that,” Peskov said in an interview with Britain’s Sky News. “And we’ll continue to defend our interests using every possible legal means,” he said.
Russia had called on an unspecified number of countries to vote “no”, saying an abstention or not voting would be considered an unfriendly act and would affect bilateral relations.