Russia declares early termination of UN Human Rights Council membership
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it would leave the UN Human Rights Council after the general assembly voted to suspend the country’s membership.
The ministry called the UN vote "an illegal and politically motivated step for the purpose of demonstrative punishment of a sovereign UN member state carrying out an independent domestic and foreign policy”, according to the Anadolu Agency.
It said Western countries...
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it would leave the UN Human Rights Council after the general assembly voted to suspend the country’s membership.
The ministry called the UN vote "an illegal and politically motivated step for the purpose of demonstrative punishment of a sovereign UN member state carrying out an independent domestic and foreign policy”, according to the Anadolu Agency.
It said Western countries monopolised the council and use it for their "opportunistic purposes".
"Having proclaimed themselves ‘a standard’ in the field of human rights, these states are directly involved in gross and mass violations of human rights," Anadolu Agency quoted the ministry said.
The ministry added that despite the withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, Russia will continue to contribute to the protection of human rights.
At the US initiative, the UN General Assembly on Thursday held a vote on Russia's membership in the council because of the war in Ukraine.
The vote passed 93 - 24, with 58 members states abstaining.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which started Feb 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and the UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
According to UN estimates, at least 1,611 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,227 injured, while more than 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced.
- Bernama
