UN votes Russia out of human rights council citing Bucha killings

An overwhelming majority of member countries in the United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from its human rights body following recent killings in Bucha.

The United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from its human rights body.

The vote to remove Russia from the Human Rights Council comes several weeks after the country invaded Ukraine and just days after reports of a massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. The vote count was 93 in favour of the resolution, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

“Russia is not only committing human rights violations, it is undermining international peace and security,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN prior to the vote.

The resolution to vote Russia out of the premier human rights body was initiated by the United States following the Bucha killings. Russia has vehemently denied the allegations, despite the mounting evidence.

The resolution focused on “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 the Russian Federation, including gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a destabilizing force globally and not simply limited to one country, argued Kyslytsya. The Ukrainian representative said that the “tragedy is unfolding before our eyes” and with their vote, the UNGA could prove that they are not an indifferent bystander to violence.

“We need to take action to save the council from sinking,” Kyslytsya said, noting that allowing Russia to sit on the human rights body would hurt the credibility of the institution.

Russia’s response to the vote has largely comprised of warning countries that there could be punitive bilateral measures if they are removed from the human rights council. A Russian representative to the UN argued that the killings Bucha and the war in Ukraine were being misrepresented by the West.