India was among 12 countries that abstained from voting on the Ukraine issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) . The UN body voted to increase the scrutiny on the “deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression”.
While abstaining to vote on the issue, India raised concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine and even extended support to calls seeking humanitarian passage to civilians from the war-torn country.
The 34th special session of the UNHRC adopted a draft resolution – “Deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine caused by the Russian aggression”. While 33 votes were in favor, two member nations voted against the resolution, and 12, including India, abstained from voting.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine and said that the use of weapons such as artillery systems, multiple rocket systems, missiles, and airstrikes in populated areas has led to the current situation in that country.
She noted that while the Russian troops were responsible for most of the casualties, the Ukrainian forces were also responsible for the human rights abuse to a smaller extent.
“While this is not strictly a judicial case, one of the Commission’s mandates is to identify, where possible, responses to violations or abuses of human rights or Individuals and entities responsible for international humanitarian law or other related crimes,” said Erik Mose, chairman of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
India has been abstaining from voting against Russia at the United Nations citing the historic ties between New Delhi and Moscow. However, New Delhi has condemned the human rights violations in Ukraine and batted for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
