War crimes in Ukraine: Bangladesh abstains from UN voting

A total of 17 countries, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, abstained from voting on a UN resolution for the extension of the mandate of the investigation into possible war crimes committed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The resolution was adopted as 28 countries supported the extension of the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine by a year while only two countries -- China and Eritrea -- were against it.

After the voting, Sergiy Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian permanent representative to the UN, tweeted, "We salute delegations @UN_HRC that supported draft Res Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression - Extension of the mandate of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. We note just 2 del's were against. War crimes accountability now!"

In a report published last month, the commission found that crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including the use of torture and attacks against the country's energy infrastructure, could constitute crimes against humanity, reports Reuters.

Russia, which refused to address the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, vigorously denies committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine.

"The scope and brutality of Russia's atrocities in Ukraine are simply beyond any human comprehension," Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Yevheniia Filipenko, told the council ahead of the vote.

"We strongly believe that the continued work of the commission in further investigating, documenting and reporting human rights violations and international crimes committed against the people in Ukraine could save more innocent lives [and] could contribute to accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims."