The United States has led a UN resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.
Among the 193-member Assembly, 93 nations voted in favour of the resolution, and 24 against, with 58 abstaining from the vote.
Singapore is one of the nations that abstained from the vote, alongside countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, and South Africa.
With a two-thirds majority minus abstentions, the resolution has been passed.
Human Rights Violations
This comes in light of the exposure of a shocking series of satellite photos emerging from the city of Bucha in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Hundreds of bodies were seen to be lying on the street and left out in the open, as well as mass graves near churches.
Ukraine President Zelensky continued to condemn Russia in an address to the United Nations Security Council on the 5th of April, accusing the country of war crimes like the killing of civilians, rape, as well as using tanks to crush the Ukrainian civilians to death.
The Kremlin have denied these claims.
The last time a country was removed from the Human Rights Council was Libya in 2011, after human rights abuses like torture, arbitrary arrests, and revenge attacks against protestors of the government.
Singapore’s Condemnation
Ms Tang Jo-Phie, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, has however restated her point that Singapore condemns Russia’s invasion with “the strongest possible terms”.
She also highlighted Singapore’s full support for Ukraine, citing Singapore voting in support of the UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 on the Aggression against Ukraine, and Resolution ES-11/2 on the Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression against Ukraine.
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Notable, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned at the end of his trip to the US that Singapore pushes hard on the condemnation of Russia because of Singapore’s prioritisation of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Malaysia’s Explanation
However, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet provided any statement in response to the reasoning behind their abstention.
Malaysia has also abstained, and their official statement to the UN, however, is that “a critical decision such as the suspension of a member of the Human Rights Council must not be made in haste and should not prejudge the outcome of such investigations.
“A decision on such an important matter must be accorded the same equal treatment and due processes as in the past in the full spirit and letter of resolution 60/251 (on the establishment of the Human Rights Council).”
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Featured image: United Nations
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