UN Human Rights Council votes to increase scrutiny on Ukraine stemming from 'Russian aggression'

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The UN Human Rights Council voted Thursday to increase scrutiny on the "deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression," particularly given events in Mariupol and other towns and cities, including the capital Kyiv.

The resolution brought by Ukraine and supported by more than 50 other countries directs a newly formed Commission of Inquiry to investigate events in Ukraine and cities including Kyiv that were temporarily held by Russian troops.

Russia was not present during any of the discussions on Thursday.

After a request from China, the 47-member council voted. China and Eritrea voted against it, and 12 countries abstained, such as Armenia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Pakistan, and Venezuela.

China said the "resolution is neither balanced nor objective" and said it would call for a vote.

The council reiterated its demand for an immediate cessation of military hostilities against Ukraine and requested the Independent International Commission of Inquiry it had set up to conduct an inquiry consistent with its mandate and international standards.

In coordination with other national and international mechanisms, the commission should address the events in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions in late February and March, including their gender dimension, to hold to account those responsible, the council said.

- Cities leveled

Dozens of Ukraine's cities have been leveled. Others have become unsuitable for living in, said Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova, a Crimean displaced from her home when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

"Over half a million of our citizens were forcibly deported to the Russian territory with their whereabouts unknown. Torture and enforced disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence, and the list of Russia's crimes is endless," Dzhaparova added.

At the start of the debate, outside the UN building in Geneva, protesters clad in Ukraine colors, held up a sign in the yellow and blue colors of the country, reading: "Save Mariupol, Save Azovstal," a reference to the city's steel plant where some Ukrainians are still holed up.

The resolution urges Russia to provide international human rights and humanitarian institutions representatives and staff access to hold accountable those responsible for actions.

It includes giving UN specialized agencies unhindered, timely, immediate, unrestricted, and safe access to persons transferred from conflict-affected areas of Ukraine.