cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11751345
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The UN’s top rights body voted 21-5 to prolong by a year the mandate of its special rapporteur on rights violations in Russia.
Ireland presented the resolution on behalf of the European Union, calling it “a lifeline for Russian society”.
“Extrajudicial killings of government critics, erosion of political pluralism, systematic crackdowns on civil society, independent media, journalists, indigenous peoples and minorities in Russia are met with impunity,” Dublin’s ambassador Laurence Simms said.
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Countries backing the extension included Britain, Chile, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea.
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Burundi, China, Cuba, Ethiopia and Vietnam voted against the resolution.
China’s representative Bai Xiaohang said renewing the mandate would erode the credibility of the council and create “division and confrontation”, urging all 47 members to vote against it.
Cuban ambassador Rodolfo Benitez Verson said: the resolution would only lead to greater polarisation, “which guarantees that in practical terms, it is useless”.
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