Russian President Vladimir Putin and his henchmen are war criminals. They launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign member state of the United Nations, and are deliberately targeting civilian populations and facilities in urban centers with deadly rocket barrages and massive bombing.
In a rare show of revulsion at a blatant violation of the UN Charter and fundamental norms of civilized behavior in the 21st century, member state delegates attending the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Tuesday walked out en masse as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergio Lavrov began to deliver his virtual address.
Russia’s criminal regime should be immediately kicked off the Human Rights Council altogether
A symbolic walkout is fine as an initial baby step. But as the next step, Russia’s criminal regime should be immediately kicked off the Human Rights Council altogether. That’s unlikely to happen, however, since the autocratic members of the dysfunctional Human Rights Council tend to look after each other. If, as expected, Russia remains a member, the Biden administration should do the right thing for once and withdraw the United States from the Human Rights Council.
More fundamentally, why should Russia remain a member of the United Nations itself, let alone retain a seat as a “permanent” member of the Security Council with veto powers, after its persistent violations of the core principles of the UN Charter?
Article VI of the UN Charter provides the mechanism to expel Russia from the United Nations: “A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.”
Russia is persisting in its violations of at least two Principles set forth in Article II of the UN Charter.
Article II (1) states: “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.”
Putin has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a member of the UN, on blatantly false pretexts.
UN Charter will become a complete dead letter
Article II (4) states: “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
Putin threatened the use of force against Ukraine and then carried out his threat with horrific attacks throughout the country, including attacks directed at civilian targets.
The Biden administration should be working non-stop behind the scenes to rally a majority of the Security Council to back a referral to the General Assembly with a recommendation to expel Russia from the United Nations. There is already precedent to consider a Security Council referral to the General Assembly, under what is known as the United for Peace Resolution process, to be a procedural matter. This means that it would not be subject to a veto by any of the “permanent” members of the Security Council. In fact, the General Assembly is meeting in an emergency session, as this column is being written, to deal with the Ukraine invasion following a referral by the Security Council. Russia voted against this referral but was powerless to block it with a veto.
The United States and its allies should seize the moment and muster a majority of the Security Council to once again make a referral to the General Assembly under the United for Peace Resolution process – this time with a recommendation to expel Russia from the UN, or at least to suspend its membership. There is a strong argument that Russia once again would not be able to exercise its veto powers to block the referral.
If Russia is not expelled from the UN, or at minimum suspended from membership until it ceases all hostilities and fully withdraws its military forces and equipment from Ukraine, the UN Charter will become a complete dead letter. Not that evil mad Vlad will care, any more than the late USSR cared when it was expelled by the failed League of Nations in 1939 for invading Finland.
The oft-criticized International Criminal Court (ICC) may give Putin, his apparatchiks, military leaders, and oligarch cronies some reason for concern, however. The ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC announced that he has decided to open up an investigation into both war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed throughout the territory of Ukraine. If the ICC tribunal has any spine, arrest warrants could be issued for Putin and his entourage. If they dare to step outside of Russia and the territories of their close allies, they could be nabbed and brought to justice at the Hague.
Sadly, this scenario is highly unlikely to happen. In any case, nothing that the ICC can do will save the hundreds of Ukrainian civilians being slaughtered by Putin’s brutal war machine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his henchmen are war criminals. They launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign member state of the United Nations, and are deliberately targeting civilian populations and facilities in urban centers with deadly rocket barrages and massive bombing.
In a rare show of revulsion at a blatant violation of the UN Charter and fundamental norms of civilized behavior in the 21st century, member state delegates attending the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Tuesday walked out en masse as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergio Lavrov began to deliver his virtual address.
