Cape Town – South Africa on Thursday abstained from voting on the suspension of Russia from the United Nations Rights Council, as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.
Out of the 193 members of the assembly, 93 voted in favour while 24 voted against and 58 abstained, including South Africa and Senegal.
This was despite pressure from Moscow for a no vote.
The high-profile rebuke of Moscow marked only the second ever suspension of a country from the council – Libya was the first, in 2011 – and it earned praise from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his American counterpart Joe Biden.
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The expulsion confirmed Moscow as an “international pariah”, Biden said in a searing statement that addressed what he called “horrifying” images from Ukrainian towns like Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of atrocities against civilians.
“Russia’s lies are no match for the undeniable evidence of what is happening in Ukraine,” Biden said, according to AFP.
On Thursday, the ambassador and deputy permanent representative of South Africa to the UN, Xolisa Mabhongo, in a statement, described as premature the suspension of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
“South Africa is of the firm belief that the tabling of the resolution that we will consider today [Thursday] is premature and pre-judges the decision of the commission of Inquiry.
READ | Statement by Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo, Deputy Permanent Representative of South Africa on the Resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.#SAatUN @SAMissionNY https://t.co/lW88BEIeHW pic.twitter.com/Z05ed9Ps83
— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) April 7, 2022
“We must allow the commission to undertake its mandate and report to the Human Rights Council on its outcomes. The resolution will further divide the matter and the general assembly itself.
“The resolution that we are considering today will further divide and polarise the matter and the General Assembly itself without following due process,” said Mabhongo.
He added: “South Africa maintains that in considering the suspension of a member of the Human Rights Council, we must be consistent and not selective as this will undermine the credibility of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. For these reasons, South Africa will abstain on the resolution,” said Mabhongo.
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Last month, South Africa was one of the 17 African countries to abstain from voting on another UN resolution calling on Russia to ceasefire.
South Africa, one of the few African countries wielding diplomatic influence outside the continent, has stuck its neck out, adamantly refusing to condemn Russian aggression.
Pretoria says it would rather be neutral and allow negotiations to end the conflict.
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