Africa-Press – Zambia. Zambia was absent yesterday at the vote that took place to Expel Russia from the Human Rights Council. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. The voting result was 93 in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.
A draft of the resolution said 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 draft resolution added that the council had “grave concern” regarding reports of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” and “violations of international humanitarian law” committed by the Russian Federation during its invasion of Ukraine.
The General Assembly needed to vote in favour of two-thirds to remove Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. The measure suspends Russia’s membership in the Council and would launch a review of the matter if the UN deems it appropriate.
The United States ambassador to the United Nations made a case for seeking the suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council in front of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, something she and other UN member states have been pushing.
In response, the deputy Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Gennady Kuzmin, called on member states to reject the resolution, saying it would set a “dangerous precedent.”
“Today is not the time nor the place for theatrics, or these kinds of extremely theatrical performances like the one presented by Ukraine. In fact, the draft resolution we are considering today has no relationship to the actual human rights situation on the ground,” Kuzmin said.
The Russian representative said the vote on suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council “is an attempt by the United States to maintain its dominant position and total control to continue its attempt at human rights colonialism in international relations.”
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
