Lawmakers call for Russia’s removal from U.N. Human Rights Council

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are calling for Russia‘s removal from the U.N. Human Rights Council in response to war crimes committed in Ukraine.

“The multitude of crimes committed by the Russian Federation, and by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin himself, demonstrates that the Russian government has no intention of upholding international human rights,” the lawmakers said Tuesday in a letter to U.S. Representative to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “As such, it is time we consider whether the Russian Federation deserves to reap benefits from an organization whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world.”

Sens. Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and James Risch of Idaho, the committee’s ranking Republican, spearheaded the letter, which calls on the U.S. to “use its seat” on the U.N. council to promote “democracy and human rights.”

The letter adds to calls in Washington to label Mr. Putin a war criminal and pressure the international community to hold him accountable.

“Russia should not have an opportunity to continue to block, stifle, and otherwise distract from important conversations on the situation of human rights in Ukraine,” the letter states. “Swift action must be taken to show the world the United States and our allies will not stand for indiscriminate and unprovoked attacks on civilians and democracies.”

The Biden administration last week officially declared that Russia‘s invading forces in Ukraine are guilty of war crimes, citing Russia‘s targeting of civilian sites such as apartment buildings, schools and hospitals, many of which had been clearly labeled as non-military locations. It also cited U.N. figures estimating that at least 2,500 civilians have been killed or wounded in the fighting and the actual number is “likely higher.”

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that U.S. officials are “documenting and evaluating” evidence of potential war crimes by Russia and Mr. Putin in Ukraine to assist international investigations and “hold those responsible accountable.”

Mr. Blinken said the administration was working with private groups to build a possible case of war crimes against the Kremlin.

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence called on the nation’s intelligence agencies to ramp up their work to document possible Russian military war crimes.