Washington, DC— Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), along with 57 other Members of Congress, led a letter to the Biden Administration urging the U.S. to work with its allies to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The letter comes amid overwhelming evidence that Russia carried out a civilian massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Multiple sources captured images of dead civilians who were shot in the head at close-range, showed signs of torture, and had their hands tied.
“We urge you and our allies to hold Russia accountable for the war crimes committed in Bucha and in other locations, and removing them from the UN Human Rights Council is a vital first step,” the letter reads in part.
“According to the United Nations, Member States on the U.N. Human Rights Council must ‘commit themselves to cooperating with the Council and to upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.’ Russia has violated this commitment.”
The U.N. General Assembly is set to vote today on whether to remove Russia from the Human Rights Council because of war crimes committed in Ukraine. A two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly can suspend a state from the Council for persistently committing gross and systematic violations of human rights.
For more information, contact Charlotte Hoffman at Charlotte.Hoffman@mail.house.gov. The full text of the letter with signatories is attached.
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