Mar 4, 2022 - World

UN to probe alleged Russian human rights violations in Ukraine

Oriana González

Picture of a person walking among rubble — A damaged building after a shelling in Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, on Thursday. Photo: Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to set up an independent international commission of inquiry to look into alleged Russian human rights violations in Ukraine, including possible war crimes.

The big picture: The council will set up a three-person commission that will be in charge of gathering and analyzing possible "evidence to ensure that perpetrators were held accountable."

The commission will be able to share its findings with other organizations, such as the International Criminal Court, which announced earlier this week that it had launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed in Ukraine.

State of play: Of the council's 47 members, 32 voted in favor, two countries — Russia and Eritrea — voted against and 13 countries abstained.

What they're saying: "UN members from all regions around the world joined together at the council to condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms," Ukraine's permanent UN representative, Yevheniia Filipenko, said after the vote, per CNN.

"The message to Putin has been clear. You're isolated on a global level and the whole world is against you."

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UN to probe alleged Russian human rights violations in Ukraine

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