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Ukraine walks out of Europe human rights body as Russia returns Ukraine walks out of Europe human rights body as Russia returns
(30 minutes later)
The Ukrainian delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has walked out in protest after Russian MPs were allowed to return to the human rights body five years after the annexation of Crimea.The Ukrainian delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has walked out in protest after Russian MPs were allowed to return to the human rights body five years after the annexation of Crimea.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he was disappointed by the decision of the assembly (Pace) to readmit Russian members, while the head of the delegation said Ukraine would halt its work at the assembly. In a 118-62 vote, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace) voted to allow the Russia’s delegation to return to the body. This move is one of the first penalties imposed upon Moscow to be rolled back since its military entered Ukraine in 2014.
The Strasbourg-based assembly agreed on Tuesday to allow Russian representatives to return to the body, five years after Moscow was stripped of its voting rights over its actions in Crimea. Russia had threatened to leave the Council of Europe, which oversees the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, unless its voting rights to the body were restored.
“I am disappointed by a Pace decision to confirm the rights of the Russian delegation without restrictions,” said Zelenskiy. He said he had discussed the issue with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, last week. Human rights advocates worried that ordinary Russians could lose the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights for protection from abuses in Russia’s police and legal system. The court orders Russia to pay millions of euro in compensation each year.
“I tried to convince Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel that the return of the Russian delegation to Pace is possible only after Russia fulfils the assembly’s main demands,” he said in a post on Facebook. “It’s a pity that our European partners did not listen to us.” But delegates from Ukraine warned that allowing Russia to return to the body would be seen as a concession and show weakness in Europe’s resolve to contain Russia.
Volodymyr Ariev, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, said it decided “to suspend its participation in the work of Pace except issues related to stripping the Russian delegation of its rights”. “Our people shed blood to protect your lives,” Olena Sotnyk, a Ukrainian representative to the assembly, said during a debate on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian news agency Hromadske. “We stopped the aggressor at the border. Our people fight for the values of Europe and give you the opportunity to see a new vision for Europe. This is all about fake values, principles & double standards.”
He said the delegation had asked the Ukrainian parliament to urgently consider the country’s membership of the assembly. The delegation also asked Zelenskiy to consider the country’s further work at the Council of Europe. Other Ukrainian representatives compared the decision to George Orwell’s 1984 and the appeasement of Nazi Germany. “Just like 1938 Munich betrayal, this could be Strasbourg betrayal,” said Oleksiy Honcharenko.
Russia’s establishment took a victory lap after the decision on Tuesday. “This is not a diplomatic victory of Moscow. This is a victory of common sense,” said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he was disappointed by the decision.
The council, one of Europe’s oldest human rights organisations, was created in 1949 to safeguard democracy and the rule of law. It long predates the European Union and has 47 member states. Its parliamentary assembly (Pace) is composed of politicians from member countries’ national parliaments.
Russia’s delegation presented its credentials on Tuesday morning, including four members who remain sanctioned by the EU. An opposition led by Ukraine have challenged those credentials on “substantial and procedural grounds”, meaning a final decision on Russia’s return will probably be made tomorrow afternoon.
UK representatives voted 8-2 against Russia’s return, with three abstentions.
The Russian delegation’s voting rights were suspended in 2014, after the assembly adopted a resolution that called Russia’s annexation of Crimea a “grave violation of international law”.
Russia responded by boycotting the assembly, and since 2017, has suspended its annual £28m payments to the council. Russia could have faced suspension at the beginning of this session and had threatened to exit the council if it could not participate in the elections for the body’s next secretary general.
On Tuesday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Russia would pay back its debt to the body once its voting rights were restored.
Human rights activists had warned that Russia’s potential exit, referred to as “Ruxit”, could have had a knock-on effect for Russia’s vast system of law enforcement and prisons.
“It’s very important for the whole law enforcement system,” Natalia Taubina, a veteran human rights activist and director of the Public Verdict Foundation, said in April. “The judgments really can make a difference. It would be a huge loss for us and for Russians not to be able to use this system any more.”
Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
UkraineUkraine
RussiaRussia
Volodymyr ZelenskiyVolodymyr Zelenskiy
EuropeEurope
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