Iranian Foreign Ministry Condemns Russia's Suspension From UNHRC

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday condemned the UN General Assembly's decision to suspend Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and criticized the misuse of UN mechanisms by the United States and other Western countries

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2022) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday condemned the UN General Assembly's decision to suspend Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and criticized the misuse of UN mechanisms by the United States and other Western countries.

Last Thursday, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted in a 93-24 vote with 58 abstentions a resolution depriving Russia of the right to vote and make statements in the UNHCR. Iran voted against. Russia responded to the UNGA decision by withdrawing from the UNHRC that same day.

"This resolution was purely political and was intended to misuse the mechanisms of the UN to achieve the private goals of Western countries. We strongly recommend that human rights be exercised within its (the Council's) own framework. No one should allow such resolutions to put UNHRC membership in dependence on political considerations," Khatibzadeh said at a briefing, as quoted by the Iranian foreign ministry on Telegram.

Iran believes that human rights must not be "sacrificed" to political goals, and common UN mechanisms must not be abused for the benefit of individual countries, the spokesman said.

"Unfortunately, these mechanisms have been repeatedly abused by Western countries, particularly the US, in recent decades," Khatibzadeh added.

The UNGA voting was prompted by events that took place in the Ukrainian town of Bucha during conflict. Several days after the withdrawal of Russian forces from Bucha, the Ukrainian authorities released disturbing footage of corpses allegedly found lying in the streets by the Ukrainian forces when they came to the town. Ukraine blamed the killings on Russia, but the latter dismissed the accusation as lacking evidence and said that the Bucha scenes were a "staged provocation."