UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS BY RUSSIA, GAMBIA; ADDS VOTING TALLY
By Peter Kenny
GENEVA (AA) - The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to set up an independent investigative commission on alleged human rights violations committed by Russia in Ukraine where war rages on.
The council voted to investigate all alleged violations, human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes.
Of the 47-member council, 32 voted for the resolution and two -- Russia and Eritrea -- opposed it. China, which said it opposes the setting up of the investigation commission, abstained.
Before the vote, Yevheniia Filipenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, called for a moment of silence for all those killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, with the whole council observing it.
"Thousands of innocent civilians have now lost their lives. Russian forces continue deliberate and indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian cities," said Filipenko.
"The number of people who were displaced has already exceeded 1 million," the Ukrainian envoy added.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure, she said, has left hundreds of thousands without access to electricity or water, and other essential needs.
"The shelling of Europe's largest nuclear plant may lead to a global catastrophe," Filipenko also said.
- Minute of silence
Counsellor Evgeny Ustinov from the Russian delegation said: “We just held a minute of silence, and we do not oppose such a minute of silence.
“But we hope that all those present here, including the diplomats and UN representatives, will finally recall those thousands of people who have been killed and maimed by the authorities in Ukraine. And these are the people in Donbas (eastern Ukraine).”
Ustinov rejected the creation of a Commission of Inquiry, saying it is “a mere waste of resources, which could better be used to help civilians in Ukraine. However, this will unlikely be a concern of the co-sponsors of the resolution, which will use any means in order to blame Russia for the event.”
Gambia’s Muhammadou M.O. Kah noted many recent high-level appeals for the violence to stop, including from the UN secretary-general.
“Our collective conscience is not only tested but provoked,” he said. “The fact that the global community is dealing with this very unfortunate situation and more importantly, loss of human lives and rights is indeed disheartening.
“The Gambia is disturbed with the far-reaching implications of such acts to the global community. Multilateralism, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and our collective humanity is provoked in bounds that we have never experienced for a very long time.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the UN decision.
"Evidence will be documented and used in international courts. Russian war criminals will be held accountable," he said on Twitter.
Belarus joined Russia in rejecting the resolution but did not have a vote as it is not in the Human Rights Council.
China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US are all in the Human Rights Council, but unlike in the UN Security Council, they do not have a veto power.
Among countries voting in favor were Benin, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Libya, Montenegro, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates, UK, and US.
Among nations abstaining were Armenia, Bolivia, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Gabon, India, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Pakistan, Sudan, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.