The Russian invasion of Ukraine will be at the heart of the session of the UN Human Rights Council which opens on Monday February 27, culminating in the publication of an investigation into the war crimes committed in the country.
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Iran, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Nicaragua... Many situations of human rights violations will animate the debates for nearly six weeks in Geneva, in a context of strong international tensions.
“Strong enough speeches”
Never has the Human Rights Council (HRC) sat for so long, a sign according to some of its importance at a time when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
But for some countries with little reputation for their respect for human rights and which are leading the charge to put an end to the mandates of UN investigators, this extended timetable is the result of too much interference by the UN institution in the affairs of States. .
Nearly 150 senior leaders, including the heads of French, American, Chinese, Iranian and Ukrainian diplomats, will speak from Monday to Thursday, a record.
Moscow is expected to send its Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday.
Despite calls from NGOs, it is not certain that the diplomats will leave the room at the time of his speech as they had done last year for his leader Sergei Lavrov, who intervened by videoconference.
“
We can expect quite strong speeches, certain divergences
,” warned the Swiss ambassador Jürg Lauber.
“Immediate” withdrawal of Russian troops
The tone will be set on Monday by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, with much-awaited speeches on the war in Ukraine after the adoption by a very large majority of a resolution by the UN General Assembly demanding an "
immediate
" withdrawal of Russian troops.
Tension will also be high at the end of the session during the vote on the continuation of the work of the investigators on Ukraine, who will present their first written report on March 20 after having already reported war crimes in September.
The Ukrainian ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko pleads for a "
strengthening
" of the resolution defining the mandate of the investigators, but it is not sure that the final text reflects this will because Kiev and its Western allies will have to convince certain hesitant countries to criticize Moscow for not to swell the ranks of abstainers.
War in Ukraine, repression in Iran...
For the boss of Amnesty International Agnès Callamard, the Russian invasion underlines "
the weakening of an international system based on the rule of law
".
For this reason and in the face of the "
large number of violations committed by Russian forces in the context of the conflict
", she calls on the HRC to adopt a "
firm position
".
The renewal of the mandate of the Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia will also be the subject of fierce discussions.
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The mandate of the Rapporteur on Iran is also at stake, after the crackdown on protests that erupted following the death in custody of a young woman.
“
If the Iranian people are ready to take to the streets, it is up to the international community to ensure there is accountability for the crimes
,” said Human Rights Watch acting executive director Tirana Hassan.
“
The priority is that this mandate be renewed.
But the second priority is that the text reflects the terrible deterioration of the situation that has occurred in recent months since the assassination of Mahsa Amini
,” assured a Western diplomat.
Read alsoDeath of Mahsa Amini: it is "all of Iran which is now demonstrating"
The Ethiopian case should also stir up tensions.
The Ethiopian government, while rejecting the report of UN investigators accusing Addis Ababa of possible crimes against humanity in Tigray, has embarked on a diplomatic offensive to block the renewal of their mandate.
“
We think it's a bit premature to remove this mechanism.
The difficulty will be to find a point of balance between one and the other, knowing that when the African group is united, many other regional support it almost automatically, ”explained to AFP a European diplomat
.
In general, he added, “
we are going to have to be very dynamic and very active so that the other country resolutions pass and prevent a China-Russia-Iran-Venezuela-Cuba axis from building an anti-country resolution wall
”.
