New round of criticism against Russia at the UN | War in Ukraine
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, attends the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
War crimes, international security under attack: Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated Monday's opening debate at the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament.
After the adoption last week, by an overwhelming majority, of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops, the UN and the allies of Kiev on Monday launched a new salvo of criticism against Moscow, eager to demonstrate that this war is not only about Europe.
“ Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the most massive violation of human rights we know today.
— Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
At the opening of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), which is expected to last almost six weeks, the Secretary denounced the senseless invasion of Ukraine by the Russia.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has criticized the return of wars of aggression destructive, from a bygone era and with global consequences.
Today it is Ukraine, but tomorrow it could be another neighboring country, launched the President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, going there with a call not to remain neutral.
At the Conference on Disarmament – which also kicked off Monday at UN headquarters in Geneva – UK Secretary of State for Europe Leo Docherty read a statement on behalf of more than 30 country. The Russian invasion is a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to international peace and security and to international order, she stresses.
“Russia is undermining our collective security architecture and challenging our rules-based global order. In a nutshell, Russia is trying to impose its vision of international relations based on the law of the strongest, or at least the most aggressive. »
—Catherine Colonna, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Bonnie Jenkins has decried Russia's suspension of its participation in the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty. Russia is once again showing the world that it is not a responsible nuclear power, she said, while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Moscow of undermining nuclear power. #x27;arms control architecture on which we all depend.
The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is due to participate in the HRC by videoconference on Thursday, while the deputy minister of Russian Foreign Affairs, Sergei Riabkov, is expected in Geneva in the coming days.
At the end of the session, at the beginning of April, the 47 Member States of the HRC will have to decide on the continuation of the work of the UN investigators on Ukraine, who will present their first written report in the coming weeks after having already done so. state in september of war crimes.
Russia is inflicting untold suffering on the Ukrainian people. […] Those responsible for these war crimes and crimes against humanity will have to be held accountable, underlined the head of French diplomacy before the HRC.
Un shortly later, during a meeting in support of Ukraine on the sidelines of the Council, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba – via videoconference – denounced the abuses committed by Russia.
The scariest crime is child theft. We are talking about thousands of them, he said, accusing Moscow of committing a crime of genocide, and reiterated Ukraine's desire to set up a special tribunal to try Russian crimes.
< p class="e-p">Ukrainian Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko pleaded last week for a stronger resolution outlining the investigators' mandate, but Kyiv and its allies will still have to convince some hesitant countries to criticize Moscow.
The renewal of the mandate of the Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia will also be the subject of fierce discussions.
