UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Prensa Latina) Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, today expressed concern about the precedent set by a possible expulsion of Russia from the Human Rights Council, as the United States intends to do.
But these kinds of matters remain in the hands of member states and we will leave it up to them to decide, the spokesman said in usual daily contact with the press accredited to the United Nations.
This Monday, the United States announced that it will demand Moscow’s expulsion from the body that oversees human rights at the international level, citing alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine.
For her part, spokeswoman for the President of the UN General Assembly, Paulina Kubiak, said she had not yet received a request from Washington to withdraw Russia from the Human Rights Council.
Earlier, US Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she would push to expel Russia from the Geneva, Switzerland-based body.
On numerous occasions, the northern nation has been at the center of controversy in this UN body due to confirmed human rights violations in that country, including by government agencies.
During Donald Trump’s tenure (January 2017 to January 2021), the United States requested his withdrawal from the Human Rights Council, claiming there was bias and a “chronic bias” against Israel.
The announcement came shortly after the council slammed the White House for its policy of separating migrant children from their parents.
When Joe Biden came to power, the northern nation returned to the Human Rights Council in February 2021.
According to what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on that occasion, in defending human rights one must start at home and recognized the great problems that his country has in this area.
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