TEHRAN- The United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is politically motivated, Iran’s ambassador to the UN said in a statement on Thursday.

Majid Takht Ravanchi said the move undermines the UN body’s neutrality.

The UN General Assembly suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday in response to claims of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Takht Ravanchi clarified Iran's position on the suspension prior to the assembly’s eleventh emergency session on Ukraine.

The full text of the statement issued by the ambassador is as follows:

The Islamic Republic of Iran has, on some occasions, expressed its principled position with regard to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, including during the adoption of the two previous resolutions of the Eleventh Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

My delegation would like to reiterate, once again, its position regarding the need for peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law and underlines the need for full respect by all parties for the well-established provisions of the United Nations Charter and international law including international humanitarian law. We emphasize that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be fully respected and the safety and security of all civilians must be guaranteed.

Iran remains deeply concerned about the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine, which has sparked significant alarm in the international community.  We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and emphasize the importance of complying with international humanitarian law by all parties. We repeat our call for unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas of the armed conflict in Ukraine. The humanitarian needs of the affected population must be addressed immediately and the delivery of food, medicine, and other essential services to the people in need must be facilitated.

The international community should encourage and support continued direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine until peace is restored. The Islamic Republic of Iran once again calls for the de-escalation of tensions in the current conflict and an urgent and lasting solution to this crisis through dialogue.

We consider the text of the resolution before the General Assembly (A/ES-11/L.3) as politically driven which undermines the impartiality of our organization. My government attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of human rights. However, we are against the exploitation of UN human rights machinery for political ends which contravenes the principles of universality, non-selectivity, and objectivity in addressing human rights issues.

We have always maintained that human rights should not be undermined by short-sighted political considerations. We stress that the work of the Human Rights Council should be performed in a non-confrontational and non-politicized manner and membership in this body should not be politicized.

We would like to reiterate our position on the centrality of the principles of objectivity, dialogue, and cooperation towards the protection and promotion of all human rights based on a non-selective and non-politicized approach. We are of the view that the exploitation of Paragraph 8 of the UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251 deepens confrontation and attenuates constructive dialogue between countries.

For the above-mentioned reasons, my delegation will vote against this draft resolution (A/ES-11/L.4).