The West, led by
the United States, has moved a resolution to vote Russia out of the UN Human
Rights Council (UNHRC) over the Bucha killings in Ukraine. The resolution, in
order to pass, will need two-thirds of the vote in the United Nations General
Assembly. The vote is supposed to take place on Thursday. The UN Human Rights
Council has three-year, region-based membership terms.

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At risk of being
ousted, Russia on Wednesday reportedly issued a warning to some member states
saying that voting against Moscow would be construed as support for the US-led
campaign to isolate Russia. The warning, issued through a letter, accessed by
Foreign Policy magazine, is said to have stated that there will be retaliation
against nation-states backing US’ attempts.

The Russian letter
is addressed to smaller, developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America
and the Caribbean. These nations usually stay away from big-ticket troubles
like the Ukraine crisis and abstain from voting. But this time, they might
actually be made to come out and take a position on the European conflict.

On Monday, the UN
high commissioner on human rights said that images received from Bucha, where over
400 people were found dead after Russian forces retreated, revealed grave
breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of
international human rights law.

“Reports emerging
from this and other areas raise serious issues and disturbing questions about
possible war crimes,” the UN high commissioner on human rights Michelle
Bachelet said.  

Russia, on the
other hand, views the attempts to oust it from the UNHRC, as another attempt to
punish Moscow for its “independent foreign policy.” The Russian letter says attempt
to oust it from UNHRC is in line with efforts of Western countries the “preserve
their domination and total control of the world.

The letter says
the move will allow Western nations dictate their vision of human rights and
use human rights issues as a political weapon against states that view them
with disfavour.