In protest over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 100 diplomats from 40 countries walked out of a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN Human Rights Council, the international panel’s top human rights forum.
Russia launched the largest ground war in Europe since the Second World War.
During his speech, the foreign minister blamed Ukraine for the war and claimed Kyiv has been seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which he termed a ‘real danger’ that required a Russian response.
Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said there is no truth to that allegation.
The boycott by envoys from the European Union, the United States, Britain, and other allies including Japan, leaving only a few diplomats in the room including Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, a former deputy to Lavrov.
Lavrov was supposed to attend the session in person but the visit was canceled at the last minute, with Moscow blaming sanctions imposed by EU countries because they barred Russian aircraft.
Envoys from Brazil, Syria, China and Venezuela were among the delegations that stayed but in sharp deviation from its traditional neutrality, one of the world’s most independent nations joined the world community by punishing Russian aggression.
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
It meets at the UN Office at Geneva.
Switzerland is adopting all the sanctions that the European Union imposed on Russian people and companies, freezing their assets to punish the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are in an extraordinary situation where extraordinary measures could be decided,” said Swiss Confederation President Ignazio Cassis, at a news conference in Bern flanked by his country’s finance, defense, and justice ministers.
Switzerland also adopted financial sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, effective immediately, and closed its airspace to most Russian aircraft.
Among the diplomats who walked out on Lavrov were Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, who joined Ukraine’s Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko behind a large Ukrainian blue and yellow flag.
“It is a remarkable show of support for Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence,” said Filipenko.
Filipenko said there had been “massive destruction to civilian infrastructure” in Kharkiv, adding: “The maternity wards are being attacked, civilian residential buildings are being bombed.”
Russia denies targeting any civilian sites.
Canada’s Joly said: “Minister Lavrov was giving his version, which is false, about what is happening in Ukraine and so that’s why we wanted to show a very strong stance together.”
Canada is petitioning the International Criminal Court over Russia’s “crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
Both Russia and the United States maintain strategic nuclear weapons on launch-ready alert, a relic of the Cold War, but the risks of an accident or miscalculation are just as grave today as ever, so Putin’s orders are a real danger.
The Human Rights Council this morning began the second day of its high-level segment, hearing from the President of Costa Rica and well as 20 dignitaries from Nigeria, Timor-Leste, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Angola, Syria, Mozambique, Namibia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Russian Federation, Denmark, Austria, Romania, European Union, Bulgaria, Republic of Korea, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Russia’s attack on Ukraine continued to dominate the discussion.
Some speakers unequivocally condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia was urged to immediately end hostilities and return to the path of diplomacy. The invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was not only an attack on another sovereign nation, but an attack against the aspirations of the Ukrainian people to freedom and democracy. Russia should withdraw its forces immediately. Some said that Russia was becoming a global pariah. This was the consequence of Putin’s war of choice.
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, said that in a context of gross violations against Russian speakers and citizens in Ukraine, and the persistent refusal of the West to call the Ukrainian authorities to order, Russia could not remain indifferent to the situation of these people. In response to an appeal, Russia had decided to launch a special military operation to protect their rights, save them, and fulfil their obligations, demilitarising and de-nazifying Ukraine, so that such a thing would never happen again.
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica, said the brave and humanist path was peace, and the bravest action a leader could take was to withdraw soldiers and return them to their families, and not to kill. After only a few days, there were thousands of refugees from Ukraine, and the economic impact of the conflict was being felt around the world. The economy of gas and oil was raising temperatures around the world, and now leading to people killing each other.
Among other issues raised, speakers said human rights, peace, security and development were deeply intertwined and mutually reinforcing. The promotion and protection of human rights were key elements in the march to sustainable peace and security, as well as the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. International cooperation and solidarity were essential to defeat the pandemic and thus counteract the risk of losing decades of progress in human development as well as to ensure that no one was left behind. The right to life and human dignity were twin rights of global significance, and their promotion and protection guided the global progress. Climate change, environmental degradation and pollution remained among the most pressing challenges the world faced today, and were a threat for future generations, impacting all without exception. Multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core, remained the only way to achieve global peace, security and prosperity.
Some speakers said that in its work, the Council had to be guided by the principles of objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity, allowing it to facilitate genuine dialogue. Strengthening rules-based multilateralism was the only way to effectively address global issues. Peace had become one of the most important solidarity rights to build a world of tolerance, equality and hope for a better life and environment. In recent years there had been pressures, threats and conflict, making the work of promoting peace, stability and development ever more difficult.
Speaking this morning were Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica; Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria; Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste; Jan Lipavský, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala; G.L. Peiris, Minister for Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka; Esmeralda Mendonça, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Angola; Faisal Mekdad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the Syrian Arab Republic; Helena Mateus Kida, Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs of Mozambique, Yvonne Dausab, Minister of Justice of Namibia; Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain; Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus; Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Jeppe Kofod, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark; Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria; Cornel Feruță, Secretary of State for global affairs and diplomatic strategies, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Romania; Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission; Velislava Petrova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria; Choi Jongmoon, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea; Francisco André, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal; and Elizabeth Truss MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s forty-ninth regular session can be found here.
The next meeting of the Human Rights Council will be at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when the high-level segment will continue.