India on Friday abstained on a crucial United Nations Human Rights Council resolution which called for an international investigation into alleged human rights violation by the Russian forces invading Ukraine.
The resolution to establish an independent commission of inquiry as a result of Russia’s invasion and aggression against Ukraine was adopted with 32 votes, with 13 abstentions and two (Russia and Eritrea) voting against it in the 47-member council.
This was the sixth time that India had abstained on a crucial UN voting on resolutions censuring Russia for its act of invading its neighbouring country.
India justifies its neutral stance arguing that it must engage with both the parties to ensure that the issue is resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
This “neutrality” by India had attracted a lot of criticism from the western political class. Earlier this week, it was reported that the US State Department had recalled a cable which was sent to its diplomats which had asked them to inform their Indian counterpart that its “neutral” stance had put it effectively into Russia’s camp, as per Axios.
India had also abstained in the UN General Assembly resolution on Wednesday which criticized Russia for invading a sovereign country. The resolution was passed with an overwhelming 141 votes. India was one of the 35 countries which abstained.
“India supports the international community's call for an immediate ceasefire. We also support safe humanitarian access to conflict zones. We remain firm in our conviction, that differences can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,” Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti had said.
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India has now abstained thrice at UN Security Council voting, twice at UNHRC voting and once at UN General Assembly voting.
Meanwhile, due to the impact of heavy sanctions on Moscow by the west, The US government on Wednesday claimed that the wide range of sanctions on the Russian government has forced the Indian government to cancel critical defence import orders such as “MiG-29 orders” and “anti-tank weapon orders”.
