(UN Photo/Manuel Elías)   United Nations  General Assembly votes to suspend the rights of the membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council during an Emergency Special Session on Ukraine at UN world headquarters in New York Apr. 7, 2022.

By  Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

UNITED NATIONS    –   NEW  YORK   – The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Thursday calling for Russia to be suspended from the Human Rights Council  for alleged murders of innocent civilians committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Ukraine. The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minus abstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favour and 24 against. Fifty-eight abstained from the process. Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, were among those who voted against.  According to the  draft of the resolution, it states the General Assembly may “suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.”  The meeting marked the resumption of a special emergency session on the war in Ukraine and followed reports of violations committed by Russian forces.   UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for an independent probe  into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, a suburb of the capital, Kyiv.  Horrific pictures emerged showing streets, buildings and yards strewn with corpses of what appeared to be multiple civilians killed at point-blank range. Some had their hands tied behind their backs, apparently executed.  Speaking  on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of committing genocide in his country.   

Before the vote, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya urged countries to support the resolution:

“Bucha and dozens of other Ukrainian cities and villages, where thousands of peaceful residents have been killed, tortured, raped, abducted and robbed by the Russian Army, serve as an example of how dramatically far the Russian Federation has gone from its initial declarations in the human rights domain. That is why this case is unique and today’s response is obvious and self-explanatory.”

U.S. Ambassador:  “This is a Historic Moment”

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, said the vote against Russia “is an important and historic moment” for the international body. 

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, addresses the emergency Security Council meeting on the current situation in Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York Feb. 23, 2022. (UN Photo  Mark Garten)

“Countries from around the globe have voted to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council for its gross and systematic violations of human rights.   Despite Russia’s attempt to spread disinformation, we all saw the gruesome images from Bucha, Dymerka, Irpin, and other recently liberated Ukrainian cities – lifeless bodies lying in the streets, some apparently summarily executed, their hands tied behind their backs. Mass graves. Burnt bodies. Executions . We must continue to show similar determination to stop their suffering. To hold Russia accountable. To end this war. After all, this is not only about accountability for Russia  And it’s about the credibility of the UN. Right now, the world is looking to us; they are asking if the United Nations is prepared to meet this moment. They are wondering if we are a platform for propaganda and a safe haven for human rights abusers – or if we are prepared to live up to our highest ideals, enshrined in the UN Charter.”

-U.S. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield

Russia “Quits” Human Rights Council After Vote

After the vote, Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Gennady Kuzmin called  the UN GA action as an “illegitimate and politically motivated step” and then announced Russia had decided to quit the Human Rights Council altogether.

Russia joined the body in January 2021 as one of 15 countries elected by the General Assembly to serve three-year terms.

Under the 2006 resolution that established the Council, the General Assembly can suspend a country from membership if it commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.