China has explained its decision to vote against the UN General Assembly resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, calling Moscow’s exclusion politically motivated and slamming the resolution as lacking transparency.
“We oppose the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights issues, the practice of selective double standards and confrontation on human rights issues, and the use of human rights issues to put pressure on other countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told journalists on Friday.
He added that the drafting process of the resolution was neither open nor transparent and suggested that its adoption would only “add fuel to the fire” by intensifying tensions among the parties and aggravating divisions inside the UN.
The resolution was adopted on Thursday with 93 nations voting in favor, 24 against, and 58 abstaining. Following the vote, Russia declared that it had already decided to leave the Council before the end of its term.