Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow hopes for the return of the United States to the UN Human Rights Council, as he spoke in Moscow on Thursday at a joint press conference with Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres.
“We hope that this decision is not final and the United States would reaffirm its commitment to the United Nations, particularly in an important area such as human rights”, said Lavrov.
Guterres backed the position of Russian FM, stating that UN “would of course much prefer for the Unites States to remain in the Human Rights Council.”
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had announced that the US is withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council on June 19th, following the Council’s vote last month to probe killings of Palestinian protesters in Gaza.
Transcript:
SOT, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations: “As I said clearly immediately after, we would of course very much prefer for the Unites States in the Human Rights Council. And I do believe that the Human Rights’ architecture is a key tool at the present moment in order to promote and to protect human rights around the world. And we hope that the work will go on in this direction, because human rights is one of the pillars of the action of the United Nations.”
SOT, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Russian): “We hope that this decision is not final and the United States would reaffirm its commitment to the United Nations, particularly in an important area such as human rights. As you know, the United States considers itself to be a champion in this field. But if it were so, Washington would have arguments that would allow it to continue working within the Human Rights Council, particularly with those who promotes initiatives and stances quite contrary to those of the US.”
SOT, Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Russian): “In regards to the accusations of Nikki Haley against the Security Council in the endless hostility towards Israel, I cannot agree with this. The Security Council has an obligation to consider reports of the Secretary General on the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. These reports are based on decisions that were taken in the Security Council in the past. The discussion that unfolds on the basis of these reports reflects the events that take place in the Middle East, directly between the Palestinians and the Israelis. A recent review of the turmoil that has occurred there, the clashes, the shelling of Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip and the Israeli response, the review has shown that the majority of the Security Council members are very objective. At the very least, the condemnation of the shelling of Israel was clearly voiced by the Russian delegation.”
Video and translation credit: Ruptly
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