Explained: What impact does the decision to suspend Russia from the UNHRC have

New Delhi, Apr 08: The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council over reports of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Russia became the second country after Libya to suspended from the council. In 2011, Libya was suspended over violence against protesters by forces who were then loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The voting:

The suspension of Russia from the Human Rights Council was strongly lobbied by the United States. 93 UN members voted in favour of suspending Russia, while 24 voted against it.

In all a total of 58 countries abstained from voting, but this does not count. For Moscow to be suspended from the Human Rights Council, a two-thirds majority was needed.

India's stand on the matter:

India abstained from voting and its permanent representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti said that the country had been abstaining fro voting for reasons of both substance and process.

He said that India stood for peace, dialogue and diplomacy. We continue to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterate our call for an an to all hostilities, he said. He further added that when human lives are at stake, the only viable option is democracy.

Tirumurti also expressed concern about the impact of the Ukraine crisis which has been felt beyond the region with costs of food and energy increasing especially in developing nations.

Following the Western sanctions on Russian entities, India has bought nearly 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil since February at a discounted cost.

What does the UNGA vote mean for Russia:

Despite Russia being suspended from the Human Rights Council the Geneva based body cannot make decisions that are legally binding. The decisions it makes can only send a political message. It can also order investigations.

Last month the council opened an investigation against Russia following allegations of rights violations, possible war crimes committed in Ukraine. Russia has however denied attacking civilians in Ukraine.