Russia ousted from UN Human Rights Council

Russia has been ousted from the UN’s human rights council, after a vote by the UN's General Assembly on Friday - the first time one of the permanent five members of the security council has failed to be elected to the council since its inception 10 years ago.

The 47-nation council is the UN’s main body dealing with promoting and protecting human rights.

In a defeat reflecting the diplomatic cost of its war in Syria, the Russian bid for re-election lost out to Hungary and Croatia, who were selected to occupy the two seats on the council allotted to eastern European states.

Human rights groups had campaigned against Russian membership because of its role in the bombing of Syrian cities, in particular the destroyed city of Aleppo, where the bombing of hospitals and civilians has become the hallmark of the conflict.

Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin was not overly concerned, telling the international press that the countries who were chosen before Russia were “not as exposed to the winds of international diplomacy.”

Saudi Arabia won its bid for a seat on Friday with 152 votes, despite its role in Yemen's civil war. This was largely because it ran unopposed in the Asia regional group.

All 193 members of the General Assembly voted for the 14 council seats open for election on Friday.

Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Japan, Rwanda, South Africa, Tunisia, the UK and the US were also elected to the council.

At the same time as the decision was reached, the Kremlin announced that president Vladimir Putin had rejected a demand by the Russian military to resume its bombing of Aleppo.