Liz Truss has called for Russia to be suspended from the UN human rights council amid “strong evidence” of war crimes and “heinous butchery” in the town of Bucha.
The remarks from the foreign secretary came just hours after the US said it would also seek to end the “farce” of Vladimir Putin’s regime remaining on the body.
Over the weekend, as Russian forces pulled out of the town northwest of the capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said troops had found civilian corpses with bound hands, gunshot wounds to the head, and signs of torture.
Boris Johnson also described the discovery of mass graves in areas where Russian forces had withdrawn as “sickening” and vowed: “The UK will not stand by whilst this indiscriminate and unforgivable slaughter takes place”.
In a statement posted later on Monday, Ms Truss added: “Given strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and heinous butchery in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN human rights council. Russia must be suspended”.
Earlier, US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said: “We believe that the members of the Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine, and we believe Russia needs to be held accountable”.
“We cannot let a member state that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to sit on the UNHRC,” she posted on social media.
The council – an inter-govenrmental body within the UN made up of 47 member states – is resposibile for the “promotion and protections of all human rights around the globe”.
During a joint press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart on Monday, Ms Truss also pledged a £10 million civil society fund for Ukraine, including support for organisations dealing with sexual violence.
