The United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council over its conduct in Ukraine, although dozens of nations abstained despite the Ukrainian ambassador’s pleadings to defend "the innocent lives lost” in the two-month war.
The rare move Thursday to suspend Russia was backed by 93 nations and opposed by 24. It’s the first time such an action was backed at the U.N. since Libya was suspended during the final months of Moammar Gadhafi’s rein in 2011.
Yet unlike previous condemnations that received overwhelming support, Thursday’s proposal garnered 58 abstentions as countries including Brazil, Thailand, India and Mexico said they wanted to see the results of an independent probe of alleged atrocities completed before a decision on Russia’s membership was made.