Crime
OAS to evaluate whether to suspend Russia as observer after Ukraine invasion
An extraordinary session convened at the request of Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda will be held on Thursday
April 20, 2022 1:52pm
Updated: April 21, 2022 12:57pm
The Organization of American States (OAS) will evaluate on Thursday whether to suspend Russia as a permanent observer of the organization following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
An extraordinary session was convened at the request of Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda, and will be supported by the United States, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, and Grenada, the organization said in a press release on Tuesday, according to El Heraldo.
The purpose of the session will be to consider the draft resolution titled "Suspension of the status of the Russian Federation as a permanent observer to the Organization of American States."
At the end of March, the OAS adopted a resolution calling for the end of "acts that may constitute war crimes" in Ukraine. Of the 34 active members, 28 voted in favor, none voted against, and five abstained (Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines), reported DW News.
The Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, participated in the session and asked the OAS to consider suspending Russia as a permanent observer.
Members who abstained from voting, and even some who voted in favor, argued that the organization is not the appropriate body to address the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In early April, the UN General Assembly approved suspending Russia from the organization's Human Rights Council because of its brutal offensive in Ukraine, according to the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the vote was a "historic moment.” She added that "we have collectively sent a strong message that the suffering of the victims and survivors will not be ignored" and that Russia must be held accountable "for this unprovoked, unjust, and unacceptable war."
Thomas-Greenfield called for Russia to be suspended from the Council after videos and photographs were released showing dead bodies of civilians in the streets of the city of Bucha, sparking worldwide outrage.
