Blank seats of the US delegation at the session of the UN Human Rights Council in GenevaMOSCOW, Apr 16 > Moscow does not rule out that, following Russia, the West will try to exclude other countries from the UN Human Rights Council, turning it into a «closed club of real democrats,» Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told RIA Novosti. «Undoubtedly, the desire to «cancel» Russia's membership in the Human Rights Council was an attempt to punish our country for an independent domestic and foreign policy. Obviously, this step of the «collective West» will be followed by similar measures against other sovereign states that do not accept the dictates of the Western world in the field of human rights,» Vershinin said.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry advocated maintaining the UN as a platform for dialogueAccording to him, «it is becoming more and more clear» that the United States and the EU countries «will continue to seek» m monopolies» in the human rights direction of the UN.» «Their goal is to transform the HRC into a kind of closed club of real democracies, designed to establish the rules of the game for the rest of the world, violations of which will be mercilessly punished,» the Deputy Minister noted. On April 7, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution suspending Russia's work in the UNHRC because of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. 93 states voted for the resolution. Against — 24. Abstained — 58. Among those who abstained are such countries as Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the suspension of Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council does not bring any «added value» to the Council itself, and the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the desire to «cancel» Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council as an attempt to influence Moscow for independent politics.
