Russia fails to reapply to UN Human Rights Council

Russia did not win the election to stay on the UN’s human rights council.

The country was kicked out of the important organization for protecting people’s rights last April because they sent their troops to invade Ukraine.

They expected that getting a new three-year term would make clear the differences of opinions among UN member states on whether to continue supporting Ukraine or not.

But Bulgaria and Albania got the two seats that were meant for Eastern European countries instead.

The vote happened a few days after a Russian missile attack that caused the death of 52 individuals in a village called Hroza in northeastern Ukraine.

Russia got 83 votes from the UN’s general assembly members. Bulgaria got 160 votes, and Albania got 123 votes.

Before, the ambassador of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, had stated that it was crucial for member countries to demonstrate that they were not willing to accept someone who starts fires as a firefighter.

Russia said it would find suitable answers for human rights problems and wanted to prevent the organization from being controlled by a certain group of countries, likely referring to the West.

Diplomats said they want to regain some international trust after being accused of violating rights in Ukraine and their own country.

Russia believed that it would gain support from many countries, especially those that are still developing, in a confidential voting process. It suggested that these countries privately agreed with Russia but did not express it openly in order to avoid upsetting Western countries.

According to reports, Russia has been actively trying to persuade smaller countries by giving them grain and weapons in exchange for their votes.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, said that the United States is trying to prevent Russia from rejoining the council.

In April 2022, the state was kicked out of the human rights council. 93 UN general assembly members voted in favor of the suspension, 24 voted against, and 58 chose not to vote.

The council will be made up of these countries starting in 2024 for three years: Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, the Ivory Coast, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands.