‘Senseless invasion’: UN human rights session begins with scathing criticism of Russia over Ukraine war
The United Nations Human Rights Council has kicked off a new session in Geneva with sharp criticism of Russia for its full-scale invasion on Ukraine.
Speaking on February 27 at the opening of the session, which runs until April 4, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said nearly 100 million people were forced to flee conflict last year, a record number, and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “is under assault from all sides.”
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most massive violations of human rights we are living today,” the UN chief said. “It has unleashed widespread death, destruction, and displacement. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have caused many casualties and terrible suffering.”
Coming just three days after the first anniversary of Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor, the session is expected to be dominated by calls from members for an extension to a UN investigation probing alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Kyiv itself has said a special tribunal should be set up to pursue and prosecute the actions of Russia’s leadership and make sure they are held accountable for any crimes committed in Ukraine. [Continue reading…]