UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia lost elections to three United Nations bodies this week, a sign that opposition to the invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago remains strong.
The votes in the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council follow the adoption of six non-binding resolutions against Russia by the 193-member UN General Assembly. The latter – on February 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion – called for Moscow to end hostilities and withdraw its troops and was passed by a vote of 141 to 7 with 32 abstentions.
In the ECOSOC voting, Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by Romania for a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. It lost to Estonia to serve on the board of directors of the UN children’s organization UNICEF. And it was defeated by Armenia and the Czech Republic in secret ballots for membership in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after Wednesday’s votes: “This is a clear signal from ECOSOC members that no country should take positions on critical UN bodies when they flagrantly violate the UN Charter.”
In voting for members of 14 commissions, boards and expert groups controlled by ECOSOC, Russia was elected by acclamation to the Commission for Social Development – from which the United States and United Kingdom distanced their countries, saying that the invasion of Russia violates international law and that of Ukraine. territorial integrity.
Russia was also elected by acclamation to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting,
