Attempts to politicize UN Rights Council discredit its work

Attempts to accuse Moscow of human rights violations in Crimea, Donbass, Abkhazia and South Ossetia discredit the work of the UN Human Rights Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The statement came in response to the council’s Friday discussion on human rights in Russia within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

"Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov has delivered Russia’s stance regarding more than 300 recommendations in the human rights sphere, received from UN members, and gave detailed explanations to the international community about it," the ministry said in a statement. "The Russian side accepted 225 recommendations partially or in full, which clearly demonstrates the commitment to better implementation of its international obligations in the rights sphere."

At the same time, the ministry said that a number of recommendations were, in fact, political demands.

"A number of states, including Ukraine and Georgia, have tried to put forward political demands, related to territories outside Russia’s jurisdiction - southeastern Ukraine and the independent states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," the ministry continued. "Among other things mentioned was the alleged annexation or occupation of Crimea, which, as it is widely known, has reunified with Russia in 2014 in full compliance with the international law, through a democratic and free expression of its citizens’ will."

"Overtures of this kind undermine the institutional basis of the Universal Periodic Review procedure and discredit the work of the UN Human Rights Council," the ministry said.

It also said that Moscow is ready for further human rights work in line with its international obligations.

"It should be noted that during the discussion all nations that spoke out described Russia’s cooperation with the UPR in positive terms," the ministry added.