GENEVA, Oct 7, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The UN Human Rights Council on Friday agreed 
to monitor the rights situation in Russia, marking the first-ever resolution 
focused on violations inside the country.

The 47-member top UN rights body accepted the draft text presented by all 
European Union countries with the exception of Hungary, with 17 nations 
voting in favour of appointing a so-called special rapporteur to monitor 
Russia.

Twenty-four countries abstained, while six voted 'no', including China, Cuba 
and Venezuela.

The vote comes a few months after Russia was kicked off the council over its 
war in Ukraine, and marks the first time the rights body has decided to delve 
into the situation inside the country.

It also came less than two hours after this year's Nobel Peace Prize was 
symbolically awarded to rights champions from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, 
three nations at the centre of President Vladimir Putin's war.

Ahead of the vote, Russian ambassador Gennady Gatilov slammed the move, 
saying it was just another example of "the way in which Western countries are 
using the council to attain their political goals."
- 'Draconian laws' -

The resolution, adopted on Putin's 70th birthday, calls for the appointment 
of a special rapporteur to monitor "the situation of human rights in the 
Russian Federation for a period of one year".

The rapporteur would "collect, examine and assess relevant information from 
all relevant stakeholders, including Russian civil society both inside and 
outside of the country," and present a report in a year's time, and another 
to the UN General Assembly in New York.

Luxembourg's ambassador Marc Bichler, who presented the resolution on behalf 
of 26 EU countries, pointed to the years-long "deterioration as regards the 
human rights situation" in Russia, warning that it had "been exacerbated over 
recent months."

"Recent draconian laws seeking to stifle independent media as well as 
undesirable organisations, severe sanctions for anyone calling into question 
the government, with a huge number of people who've been arrested at 
demonstrations, are just a few recent examples of the systematic repressive 
policies that have been documented by numerous independent sources," he said.
While the decision was the first-ever targeting the situation inside Russia, 
the council has recently adopted other resolutions condemning Moscow's war in 
Ukraine, and ordering a high-level probe of violations by Russian troops 
there.

The vote came on the 16th anniversary of the killing of Russian journalist 
Anna Politkovskaya, which several diplomats pointed to.

German ambassador Katharina Stasch was also among a number of diplomats to 
highlight Friday's Nobel win, pointing out that laureate organisation 
Memorial was "one of those organisations having been oppressed and even shut 
down by Russia for speaking up."

French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont agreed, telling the council that the award 
"clearly shows the growing attention and concern about the dangerous downward 
slide" of rights in Russia.

Western countries were breathing a sigh of relief with the passage of 
Friday's resolution, which came a day after they suffered a crushing defeat 
at the council when a first-ever attempted resolution on China was narrowly 
rejected.

That one -- which called for a debate about a UN report warning of serious 
violations and possible crimes against humanity in China's Xinjiang region -- 
flopped after intense lobbying by Beijiing.

The failure indicated a shifting power balance and even raised questions 
about the credibility of the council itself, rights groups said.