UN Rights Body
UNITED NATIONS: After its forces invaded Ukraine, Russia will attempt to return to the UN Human Rights Council, with a vote by the UN General Assembly set for Tuesday to elect 15 new members for the 2024-2026 term.
The council’s 47 members are typically chosen by regional groups, but this year, Latin America (with Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Peru vying for three seats) and Eastern Europe (including Albania, Bulgaria, and Russia competing for two seats) have more candidates than available positions. The US opposes Russia’s bid.
Russia’s candidacy has faced skepticism, exacerbated by a recent missile attack in Ukraine that killed over 50 people. The US State Department expressed the hope that UN members would firmly reject Russia’s candidacy due to violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
To secure a rights council seat, a country requires 97 votes from the UN’s 193 member states. In April 2022, 93 countries voted to suspend Russia from the council, while 24 opposed, a less one-sided result compared to other resolutions defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, with around 140 countries in favor. However, some countries, also implicated in rights violations, worry about facing similar consequences.
Secret Vote to Determine Russia’s UN Human Rights Council Reentry
The upcoming secret ballot vote on Tuesday may reveal a fragmented world where some developing countries become tired of the West’s focus on Ukraine. Western diplomats in New York fear Russia’s potential return to the Human Rights Council, considering it a PR disaster for the UN.
Russia hopes for support from a supposed silent majority in this secret vote. While Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, argued against portraying countries as beacons of democracy or rogue states, NGOs like Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called on member countries to refrain from voting for Russia and China, citing their disregard for membership standards.
China, however, faces minimal risk in the vote due to its uncontested seats in the Asian regional group. HRW also opposes Cuba’s candidacy, while the International Service for Human Rights objects to not only Russian and Chinese candidacies but also that of Burundi.
Other candidates include Ivory Coast, Malawi, Ghana, Kuwait, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, and France.
