The UN Human Rights Council on Friday overwhelmingly approved a resolution in favor of an international commission of inquiry into violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
After the United Nations General Assembly’s massive vote earlier in the week demanding that Moscow end the conflict, Russia suffered yet another bitter defeat at the Human Rights Council, with the resolution passed by 32 votes for, 2 against (Russia and Eritrea) and 13 abstentions, including those of Venezuela, Cuba, China, India and Pakistan.
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 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.
Investigators will be responsible for “collecting, collating and analyzing evidence of […] violations” of human rights and international humanitarian law resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a view to future trials, and to identify those responsible for these violations “so that they can be held accountable for their actions”.
The Russian invasion caused great emotion in the world. Anti-war demonstrations and gestures of solidarity with Ukrainians have multiplied, in view of the bombardments and the exodus from Ukraine of around 1.2 million people, according to the latest UN figures.