India abstained from voting in Human Rights Council to investigate Russian actions 

India has abstained from voting at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Council has expressed its decision to start an international enquiry commission to investigate the actions of Russian forces in Ukraine.  

This marks the strongest resolution yet to be adopted by the UN ever since Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. This resolution “strongly condemns” the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.

It has also announced that is “gravely concerned” with the reports that it has received regarding violations of human rights in Ukraine, apart from the large number of civilian casualties and the forced migration of 6,60,600 people from the country on account of the Russian “bombing and shelling” in major city-centres. 

India abstains from vote right after Quad meeting:

13 countries including India have abstained from voting in this resolution. These 13 countries are part of the 47-member council elected by the UN.

Other countries that have abstained from voting include China, Pakistan, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Kazakhstan. The meeting followed close on the heels of the Quad meeting which Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended with US President Joe Biden.

The meeting also follows the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. At this hearing, senior officials have claimed that the US has tried its level best to persuade India to change its stand but has failed to make India acquiesce.  

Details about the HRC resolution:

This resolution has been adopted by 32 countries which constitutes almost two-thirds of the UN Human Rights Council.

The resolution has asked the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council to appoint three experts in human rights for one year to

“investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and related crimes, in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.”

The only two votes against the resolution came from Russia and Eritrea.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied allegations of having targeted areas highly populated by civilians. Further, Putin alleged that the Ukrainian government has conducted human rights violations in the area of Eastern Donbas, thereby justifying its military operation in Ukraine.  

India maintained silence after the vote. India’s abstention at this resolution is the latest in a series of abstentions at the UN ever since Russia began its military operations in Ukraine on February 24.

Till now, India has abstained from three votes at the UN Security Council apart from two votes at the UN General Assembly in New York, two at the HRC in Geneva and one vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.  

Edited By- Subbuthai Padma

Published By- Satheesh Kumar