Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, April 7: The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council of the world body for its alleged atrocities in Ukraine. India again abstained from voting despite Russia’s earlier “warning” that even abstention by any country would be deemed to be hostile to Moscow.
The UNGA voted on a resolution moved by the US to suspend Russia from the UNHRC over the Moscow’s military aggression in the east European nation, particularly from allegedly committing the civilian genocide in Bucha town on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
An Emergency Special Session of the 193-member UN body resumed on Thursday over the draft resolution to suspend Russia. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti had earlier told the Assembly that India would abstain from voting on the resolution on Russia
Evidences of civilian killings in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv — which Ukraine has blamed on Russian troops, allegations denied by Moscow — have shocked the world and triggered calls for new sanctions on Moscow. Ukraine said it was “grateful” for the decision to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, saying “war criminals” should not be represented in the body. “War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution and chose the right side of history.”
“India has abstained on the resolution with regard to suspension of the Russian Federation from the Human Rights Council adopted in the General Assembly today. We do so for reasons of both substance and process,” an official tweet read.
In a statement, Tirumurti said recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha were deeply disturbing and that India continued to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterated the call for end to all hostilities. “We have unequivocally condemned these killings and support the call for an independent investigation… When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option,” he said.
Tirumurti said the impact of the crisis had been felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries. “It’s in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside the UN and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict.” Since January this year, India has abstained on eight occasions on procedural votes and draft resolutions in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council that deplored Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The General Assembly resumed its Emergency Special Session after a request from Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Georgia, Japan, Liberia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union, on behalf of 27 members of the European Union.
The Human Rights Council consists of 47 Member States, elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly. The General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, “may suspend the rights of membership in the Council of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.” Abstentions do not count and the resolution required two-thirds of yes/no votes to be adopted.
Earlier during the day as the Russian invasion of Ukrainian areas continued, the mayor of the besieged city of Mariupol said more than 5,000 civilians have been killed so far, among them 210 children. The US announced further sanction on Russian entities and individuals, including a ban on American investments in Russia and sanctions on the families of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky urged Europe to take a stronger stand against Russia in a video address to Greece’s parliament on Thursday that invoked the battle cry of 19th century Greek patriots in the Black Sea port of Odesa. Zelensky said Mariupol, another port on Ukraine’s coast where thousands of ethnic Greeks live, had been “reduced to ashes” since Russia’s invasion, and called for more humanitarian aid and efforts to evacuate those wounded.
“This is a matter of honour for Europeans to answer,” he said through an interpreter, in a speech that won him a standing ovation in the Athens parliament. The six-week-old war has forced more than four million people to flee Ukraine, destroyed cities and prompted a slew of Western restrictions on Russian elites and the economy. Russia has denied targeting civilians and said Ukraine and its Western backers are gripped by discriminatory anti-Russian paranoia.