Russia would like the world to look away while it flattens what is left of the Republic of Chechnya and does what it will to the Chechen people. In an unexpected display, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has shown itself unwilling to oblige. Earlier this week, member nations voted 25 to 7 in support of a resolution accusing Russia of widespread human-rights violations in that war and called for a national inquiry into the atrocities committed in Chechnya.
The resolution was presented by the European Union and supported by the United States and Eastern European states. Russia denounced the measure as interference in its domestic affairs, a position that was supported by China, Cuba and four other governments. Nineteen other countries abstained.
The vote was a surprise. Rarely are permanent members of the Security Council censured; indeed, the previous week, a measure condemning China's human-rights record never even came up for a vote. Observers attributed the outcome to Moscow's unwillingness to cede even a little ground to Europe.