US pushes to suspend Russia from UN human rights body

The US ambassador to the United Nations has said that the United States will call on the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, ratcheting up Washington’s offensive against Moscow over the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the remarks on Tuesday after Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing dozens of civilians in the town of Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

A two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member assembly in New York can suspend a state for persistently committing gross and systematic violations of human rights, according to Reuters.

"Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce," Greenfield said on a visit to Romania.

"And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly vote to remove them."

Ukraine said that it will use all "available UN mechanisms" to collect evidence on Russia's alleged crimes in the country.

"No place for Russia on the UN Human Rights Council," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky demanded "accountability" for Russia at the UN Security Council.

Zelensky said in a virtual address to the 15-member international body on Tuesday that Russia must face "accountability" for "crimes" during the protracted offensive by Russian forces in the occupied cities and regions of Ukraine.

"Geography might be different or various, but cruelty is the same. Crimes are the same and accountability must be inevitable," the Ukrainian leader told the Security Council.

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Zelensky demanded full and transparent investigations along with "maximum access for journalists, maximum cooperation with international institutions, involvement of the International Criminal Court — complete and full accountability."

US Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said she wants to have the vote at the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council this week.

Western countries have slapped unprecedented sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin declared a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the “special military operation”  was launched to demilitarize Donetsk and Luhansk, largely populated by ethnic Russians, in eastern Ukraine.

The United States and its European allies have labeled the military operation as “Putin’s land grab.”

Since February 24, the UN General Assembly has adopted two resolutions denouncing Russia with 140 votes in favor.

"My message to those 140 countries who have courageously stood together is: the images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on a visit to Romania.

In response, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, denounced the attempt to exclude Russia from the council as "unbelievable.”

"This is again unprecedented and this will not facilitate or encourage or be helpful to what is happening between Russia and the Ukrainian peace talks," Nebenzia said at a press conference in New York.

He rejected the accusations of atrocities in Bucha, saying the footage presented was "staged." He said Russia would present more evidence on the issue at the UN Security Council meeting.

Ukraine's Zelensky demands ‘accountability’ for Russia at UN

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has demanded "accountability" for Russia at the United Nations Security Council as the country’s military campaign in the former Soviet state drags on for more than 40 days.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the images were fakes produced by Ukrainian forces or that the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out of the areas.

"It is simply a well-directed but tragic show," Peskov told reporters. "It is a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army.  And it will not work."

He also said that the Kremlin urged "the international community: detach yourself from such emotional perceptions and think with your head. Compare the facts and understand what a monstrous forgery we are dealing with."

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