UNGA vote to suspend Russia from UNHRC over Ukraine crisis

UNGA vote to suspend Russia from UNHRC over Ukraine crisis

Subject: IR

Context- The UN General Assembly will vote Thursday on a draft resolution seeking to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, a move initiated by the US after harrowing images emerged of corpses strewn across streets of the Ukrainian city Bucha, with Washington terming “Moscow’s participation in the top human rights body as a farce”.

Concept-

• The Assembly will vote on a draft resolution that will decide to suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation”.
• The draft resolution titled ‘Suspension of the rights of membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council’
• The draft resolution was submitted for co-sponsorship by Ukraine, Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Republic of Moldova, the UK and the US.
• The draft resolution expresses grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly at the reports of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law by Russia, including gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights.

What’s the Human Rights Council?

• 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.

What’s the voting procedure at the UNGA?

• The UN 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 requires two-thirds of yes/no votes to be adopted.

What has been India’s track record so far?

• Since January, India has abstained on at least 11 occasions on procedural votes and draft resolutions in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.

What has India said so far, especially on the Bucha killings?

• New Delhi on Tuesday unequivocally condemned the deeply disturbing reports of civilian killings in the Ukrainian city of Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation, as it underlined that when innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option.
• India encourages talks between Ukraine and Russia, including at the level of their presidents, and asserted that if New Delhi can be of any assistance in this matter, it would be “glad to contribute”.
• India’s approach will be to promote dialogue to end the conflict.

Is there a precedent for suspension?

• Russia’s current membership on the UNHRC ends in December 2023.
• The only time a member state was suspended from the Geneva-based Human Rights Council was Libya in 2011 when in an unprecedented move a resolution was adopted in the General Assembly that had expressed deep concern about the human rights situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the wake of Muammar Al-Gaddafi’s violent crackdown on anti-government protestors.

**** For further reading refer to Optimize IAS DPN 21 May 2021.