The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday suspended Russia from Human Rights Council. The U.N. General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the world organization’s leading human rights body over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, which the United States and Ukraine have called tantamount to war crimes.
Russia rejected the suspension, and termed the UNGA's notice as 'illegal'.
India has abstained on the resolution with regard to the suspension of the Russian Federation from the Human Rights Council adopted in the UN General Assembly today, said India's Permanent Representative to UN, TS Tirumurti.
India added, "We continue to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterate our call for end to all hostilities. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option. Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We have unequivocally condemned these killings and support the call for an independent investigation."
The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions, significantly lower than the vote on two resolutions the assembly adopted last month demanding an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, withdrawal of all Russian troops and protection for civilians. Both of those resolutions were approved by at least 140 nations.
Russia is the second country to have its membership rights stripped at the Human Rights Council which was established in 2006. In 2011, the assembly suspended Libya when upheaval in the North African country brought down longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield launched the campaign to suspend Russia from its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in the wake of videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians after Russian soldiers retreated. The deaths have sparked global revulsion and calls for tougher sanctions on Russia, which has vehemently denied its troops were responsible.
(AP inputs)
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