Russia was voted off UN Human Rights Council
According to the results of a vote held on Friday, Russia was voted off the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period from 2017 to 2019, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
According to the results of the voting, Hungary and Croatia were elected, receiving 144 and 114 votes, respectively. Only 112 countries voted for Russia.
During the vote in the UN General Assembly, 14 new representatives were elected to the UNHRC on Friday, and will be members from 2017 to 2019.
As reported on October 25, more than 80 humanitarian and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Care International, demanded that Russia be excluded from the UN Human Rights Council.
Last Friday, on October 21, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Syria at a special session in Geneva, requiring that all parties to the conflict in Syria, "in particular the Syrian government and its allies", immediately fulfill all obligations in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The human rights organizations stated in the document that Russia’s veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council on a cease-fire resolution in Aleppo and its support of air strikes in Syria in general do not comply with the principles and objectives of the Council.