Council of Europe Officially Expels Russia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, March 17, 2022
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) has formally decided to expel Russia from the human rights group, making it the first case in the organization's history. The Strasbourg-based organization said in a statement on March 16 that it had unanimously adopted a measure ‘that allows the Russian Federation to no longer be a member state of the organization’.
The day before the decision, the organization was notified by Russia that it was leaving its ranks.
The CoE suspended Russia's membership on February 25, a day after Moscow invaded Ukraine without provocation. Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric called the attack on Ukraine a gross violation of the statutes of the CoE and the European Court of Human Rights.
Ukraine has filed a lawsuit in the Hague in protest of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, saying he must allegedly end the ‘genocide’ of pro-Russians there. On March 16, the International Court of Justice, in a preliminary ruling that gives it more symbolic significance, ordered Russia to immediately cease hostilities in Ukraine. The votes in the court were distributed in the ratio of 13: 2, representatives of Russia and China - opposed the verdict.
