The Briefing
- 93 countries voted in favor of suspending Russia from the UN’s Human Rights Council, including all NATO member countries
- 24 countries voted against the resolution, including; China, Iran, and North Korea
Russia Has Been Suspended From the UN Human Rights Council
On April 7, 2022, the United Nations suspended Russia from its seat on the Human Rights Council.
This suspension comes amid growing condemnation of Russia over alleged civilian murders committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. Widely distributed videos appear to show the bodies of civilians scattered along the streets in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
To be approved, the resolution required a two-thirds majority of assembly members that vote โyesโ or โno”. Here is a complete list of how countries voted:
| Country | Vote | NATO Member | Former Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra | In favor | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan | — | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ฌ Antigua and Barbuda | In favor | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | — | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | In favor | ||
| ๐ฆ๐น Austria | In favor | ||
| ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | In favor | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | — | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ง๐ง Barbados | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ช Belgium | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso | — | ||
| ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi | Against | ||
| ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | — | ||
| ๐ง๐ณ Brunei Darussalam | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | Against | ||
| ๐ง๐ท Brazil | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ธ Bahamas | In favor | ||
| ๐ง๐น Bhutan | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | Abstained | ||
| ๐ง๐พ Belarus | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | Abstained | ||
| ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐จ๐ฉ Dem. Republic of the Congo | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | Against | ||
| ๐จ๐ฌ Republic of the Congo | Against | ||
| ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ฎ Cรดte dโIvoire | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | Abstained | ||
| ๐จ๐ณ China | Against | ||
| ๐จ๐ด Colombia | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐บ Cuba | Against | ||
| ๐จ๐ป Cabo Verde | Abstained | ||
| ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | In favor | ||
| ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti | — | ||
| ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฉ๐ฒ Dominica | In favor | ||
| ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | In favor | ||
| ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | Against | ||
| ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | In favor | ||
| ๐ช๐ช Estonia | In favor | โ๏ธ | โ๏ธ |
| ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | Abstained | ||
| ๐ช๐ท Eritrea | Against | ||
| ๐ช๐ธ Spain | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | Against | ||
| ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | In favor | ||
| ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | In favor | ||
| ๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia | In favor | ||
| ๐ซ๐ท France | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | Against | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada | In favor | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | — | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea | — | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | In favor | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | Abstained | ||
| ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | In favor | ||
| ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ญ๐น Haiti | In favor | ||
| ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | In favor | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | In favor | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ณ India | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | Against | ||
| ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฎ๐น Italy | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | In favor | ||
| ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | In favor | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ฎ Kiribati | In favor | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros | In favor | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ณ Saint Kitts and Nevis | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ต North Korea | Against | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | In favor | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฑ๐ฆ Laos | Against | ||
| ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | — | ||
| ๐ฑ๐จ Saint Lucia | In favor | ||
| ๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein | In favor | ||
| ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | In favor | ||
| ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | In favor | โ๏ธ | โ๏ธ |
| ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | In favor | โ๏ธ | โ๏ธ |
| ๐ฑ๐พ Libya | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | — | ||
| ๐ฒ๐จ Monaco | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ญ Marshall Islands | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | Against | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | — | ||
| ๐ฒ๐น Malta | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ป Maldives | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | In favor | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | Abstained | ||
| ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ณ๐ช Niger | Abstained | ||
| ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | Abstained | ||
| ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | Against | ||
| ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ณ๐ด Norway | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | Abstained | ||
| ๐ณ๐ท Nauru | In favor | ||
| ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | In favor | ||
| ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | Abstained | ||
| ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | In favor | ||
| ๐ต๐ช Peru | In favor | ||
| ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | In favor | ||
| ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | In favor | ||
| ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | Abstained | ||
| ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ต๐น Portugal | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ต๐ผ Palau | In favor | ||
| ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | In favor | ||
| ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | Abstained | ||
| ๐ท๐ด Romania | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | In favor | ||
| ๐ท๐บ Russia | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | — | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands | — | ||
| ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | In favor | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | In favor | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | In favor | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino | In favor | ||
| ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐ด Somalia | — | ||
| ๐ธ๐ท Suriname | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐น Sao Tome and Principe | — | ||
| ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | Abstained | ||
| ๐ธ๐พ Syria | Against | ||
| ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini | Abstained | ||
| ๐น๐ฉ Chad | In favor | ||
| ๐น๐ฌ Togo | Abstained | ||
| ๐น๐ญ Thailand | Abstained | ||
| ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐น๐ฑ Timor Leste | In favor | ||
| ๐น๐ฒ Turkmenistan | — | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | Abstained | ||
| ๐น๐ด Tonga | In favor | ||
| ๐น๐ท Turkey | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | Abstained | ||
| ๐น๐ป Tuvalu | In favor | ||
| ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | Abstained | ||
| ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐บ๐ธ United States | In favor | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | In favor | ||
| ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | Against | โ๏ธ | |
| ๐ป๐จ St Vincent and the Grenadines | Abstained | ||
| ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | — | ||
| ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | Against | ||
| ๐ป๐บ Vanuatu | Abstained | ||
| ๐ผ๐ธ Samoa | In favor | ||
| ๐พ๐ช Yemen | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | Abstained | ||
| ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | — | ||
| ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | Against | ||
| ๐ด๓ ข๓ ก๓ ข๓ ฉ๓ จ๓ ฟ Bosnia and Herzegovina | In favor |
Not surprisingly, all NATO countries voted in favor of suspending Russia from the Council. This includes Turkey, which has taken a more neutral stance than other allies since the invasion began. Altogether, 93 countries voted for the resolution.
On the other side, 24 countries voted against the resolution. China is perhaps the most significant “no” vote, citing a lack of openness and transparency in the process. Of course, Russia itself voted against the resolution.
A number of countries abstained from voting, most notably, India. Leading up to the vote, Moscow indicated that even an abstention would be viewed as an “unfriendly gesture” with consequences for bilateral ties.
This suspension adds to the list of actions taken against Russiaโincluding heavy sanctionsโas the country becomes more isolated from the international communityโparticularly Western nations.
What Does the UN Human Rights Council Do?
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a UN body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world.
The Council investigates breaches of human rights in UN member states and member countries address big picture human rights issues.
How Does the UN Human Rights Council Work?
The Council consists of 47 members, elected yearly by the General Assembly for staggered three-year terms.
Using the UN regional grouping system, members are selected to represent a diverse and fair mix of countries from around the world. Until its suspension, Russia was one of the two countries representing Eastern Europe, along with Ukraine.
Members are eligible for re-election for one additional term, after which they relinquish their seat.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The United Nations
Correction: An earlier version of this graphic had a Colombian flag in the “abstain” section. It has been replaced with the correct flag, Cambodia. Austria was also erroneously grouped with NATO countries.
