The UN Human Rights Council on Friday approved, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution in favor of an international commission of inquiry into violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Ukraine after the invasion Russian.
Another failure for Russia
After the massive vote of the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the week to demand that Moscow stop the conflict, the resolution was adopted by 32 votes in favor, 2 against (Russia and Eritrea) and 13 abstentions, including those from Venezuela, Cuba, China, India and Pakistan.
A first in the history of the Council
This vote comes as the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporijie, located in southern Ukraine, was hit on Friday by Russian army strikes which caused a fire, quickly extinguished by Ukrainian firefighters. It is the first time in the Council’s history that a resolution has directly targeted Russia, according to a UN spokesperson. The resolution condemns “violations of human rights and violations of these rights resulting from the aggression of the Russian Federation”.
The highest level of investigation
The text calls for “the rapid and verifiable withdrawal of Russian troops and Russian-backed armed groups from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine”, and calls for the emergency establishment for an initial period of one year “an independent international commission of inquiry”, the Council’s highest level of inquiry.