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Over 80 NGOs call for Russia to be dropped from UN Human Rights Council

A number of human rights and aid organizations have urged the United Nations to deprive Russia of its seat on the UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC), AFP reported on Monday.

More than 80 international organizations have signed the appeal, with such groups as Human Rights Watch, CARE International and Refugees International among them, AFP says.

The move was prompted by Russia’s involvement in the anti-terrorist campaign in Syria.

The signatories asked the UN member states to “question seriously whether Russia’s role in Syria which includes supporting and undertaking military actions which have routinely targeted civilians and civilian objects renders it fit to serve on the UN’s premier inter-governmental human rights institution,” AFP reports, citing the text of the appeal.

The appeal has been submitted ahead of elections to the UN’s human rights body that are scheduled for Friday. The UN General Assembly in New York will be selecting members to fill 14 seats, with Russia, Hungary and Croatia running for two seats representing the Eastern European group at the council.

Saudi Arabia, China, Iraq, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt and South Africa are among the other countries vying for seats in various regional groups. The US and UK are seeking election to the two seats representing the Western Europe and Others group. Elected nations will be represented in the UNHRC for three years, starting from 2017.

Russia is currently in the UNHRC, but its membership expires this year.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/363943-un-human-rights-russia/

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