On Thursday, May 12, the UN Human Rights Council will hold its 34th special meeting dedicated to the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression.
“It is being convened in accordance with the official request filed today by Ukraine and supported so far by 53 states,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on its website on Monday.
The Office recalls that the convening of an extraordinary session requires the support of one third of the 47 members of the Council – 16 or more. To date, the following Council Member States have supported this request (16): Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
They were also joined by the following Observer States (37): Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Specific details of the special session and its scenario will be discussed at a public meeting on May 11, UNHCHR clarifies.
The Office recalled that during the 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council on March 3 and 4, 2022, the Council held an emergency discussion on the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine, after which it decided to establish an independent international commission to investigate all alleged human rights violations in the context of such aggression.
