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| Photo Credit: www.iatp.org |
Russia lost its bid to retain a seat on the UN Human Rights Council
amid daily accusations that the country may be guilty of war crimes for
its support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s assault on the city of
Aleppo. The 193-member General Assembly on Friday elected 14
countries to the 47-member council. With 112 votes, Russia lost to
Hungry and Croatia. As many as 87 human rights groups had objected to
Russia’s candidacy, said Akshaya Kumar, deputy UN director for Human
Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group. “It’s hard to
imagine the atrocities happening in Aleppo weren’t on the minds of the
people casting their votes today,” Kumar said. “This is a historic
rejection.” The humanitarian crisis in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo
worsened after a U.S.-Russian ceasefire deal fell apart and Assad’s
Russian-backed forces stepped up their campaign to defeat rebels holding
the city, where some 275,000 people remain trapped. The incessant
bombing has prompted some U.S. and European leaders to threaten possible
sanctions, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry saying a war crimes
investigation may be warranted. Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin
downplayed the vote, saying that Croatia and Hungary, “are fortunate
because of their size they are not as exposed to the winds of
international diplomacy.” Russia had been on the council for a while and
“I’m sure next time we’re going to get in.” Other countries
elected to the council on Friday included Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
China, Brazil, Rwanda, Cuba, South Africa, Japan, Tunisia, the U.S. and
the U.K.
Bloomberg Photo
