Geneva:
India was among 12 countries that abstained from voting on the Ukraine issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday. The UN body voted to increase the investigation into the “deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine resulting from the Russian invasion”.
Refraining from voting on the issue, India expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine and even backed calls for humanitarian aid to civilians from the war-torn country.
The 34th special session of the UNHRC passed a draft resolution – “Deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine due to Russian aggression”. While 33 votes were in favour, two member states voted against the resolution and 12, including India, abstained from voting.
Russian, Ukrainian military responsible for human rights violations: Bachelet
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine and said that the current situation in that country has arisen due to the use of weapons such as artillery systems, multiple rocket systems, missiles and air strikes in populated areas.
He said that while Russian forces were responsible for most of the casualties, Ukrainian forces were also responsible for some human rights abuses.
Eric Mosse, chairman of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, said, “While this is not a strictly judicial matter, one of the commission’s mandate is, where possible, for human rights violations or abuses or international humanitarian law or other related crimes. It is to identify the responses of the responsible individuals and institutions.”
India has stayed away from voting against Russia at the United Nations, citing the historic ties between New Delhi and Moscow. However, New Delhi has condemned human rights violations in Ukraine and advocated dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
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