They ask that Cuba and Venezuela also leave the Human Rights Council

Russia's exclusion is based on “gross and systematic violations of human rights” committed by Russian troops in Ukraine

El presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro (a la izquierda), saluda a su homólogo de Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, durante la ceremonia de cierre de la cumbre 17 de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) en La Habana, Cuba. 14 de diciembre, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

The Center for a Free Cuba (CCF) organization expressed its satisfaction on Thursday with the suspension of Russia's participation in the UN Human Rights Council and called for the same action to be taken with China, Cuba and Venezuela, among other countries.

Russia's exclusion is based on “gross and systematic violations of human rights” committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

“The Center for a Free Cuba (CFC), a collaborating organization at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, welcomes and joins UNWatch's call to expel China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania and Venezuela from the UN Human Rights Council,” said John Suarez, executive director of the Center for a Cuba Free, in a statement.

Suarez added that “now is the time to clean up the dysfunctional Human Rights Council so that it can fulfill its duties at this critical time.”

The United Nations General Assembly approved the US-led initiative with 93 votes in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

The Washington-based CFC mentioned that Cuba, which was elected to the Council in 2020, the same year that Russia, China and Pakistan entered, was one of the 24 countries that voted against Russia's suspension, including Nicaragua.

“The events of the past two months have demonstrated the error of legitimizing these regimes that are actively hostile to international human rights standards,” CFC said.

The Cuban regime “has been at the forefront of undermining international human rights standards for decades,” he added.

The resolution that suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council was approved this Thursday with 93 votes in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

Faced with the bulk of the international community, led by the US and its Western allies, Vladimir Putin's government was supported by regimes in Venezuela, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba.

The representative of the Beijing regime argued that the resolution was not drafted openly and that the measure against Moscow will add fuel to the fire.

The bulk of the votes that rejected the resolution came from Asia, with votes against China, North Korea, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

(With information from EFE)

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