Members of Congress Urge UN Ambassador to Examine Suspending Russia's UN Membership

Congressmen David Cicilline and 10 of his colleagues have written a letter to UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urging her to examine the potential of suspending Russia's UN membership in response to its unlawful invasion of Ukraine. The letter, signed by Representatives Dina Titus, Mark Takano, Mondaire Jones, Sheila Jackson Lee, Mike Quigley, Jamie Raskin, Jim Costa, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Carolyn Bourdeaux, and Danny K. Davis, expresses support for Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's efforts to hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian government accountable for their actions.

Key Takeaways:

• The letter, signed by 11 members of Congress, urges UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to examine the potential of suspending Russia's UN membership in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
• The members express support for Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's efforts to hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian government accountable for their actions, including suspending Russia from the UN Security Council or entirely.
• The letter notes that no country has successfully been removed from the UN Security Council or UN membership for violating the charter.
• The members also urge Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield to investigate whether the handover from the USSR to Russia at the UN was lawful.
• The letter highlights Russia's numerous human rights abuses, including the persecution of LGBTQI+ Chechens, the displacement of thousands of people from Georgia, and the annexation of Crimea and occupation of areas of Ukraine.
• The members applaud Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's efforts to pass a historic resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and urge her to use all tools at her disposal to ensure that the Russian government is held accountable at the United Nations.

Statistics:

• Over 25,000 civilians lost their lives in the conflict in Chechnya in 1999-2000.[1]
• Nearly 200,000 persons were displaced in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 2008.[2]
• Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have crossed the borders of neighboring states since Russia's initial invasion of Crimea in 2014.[3]
• The UN Charter was created to maintain international peace and security and to prevent and remove threats to peace.[4]

Sources:

• [1] U.N. Charter art 1, ¶ 1.
• [2] Estimated from "Georgia-Abkhaz war destroys economy, displaces thousands", Reuters (September 2008)
• [3] From "Ukraine crisis: Ukrainian refugees overwhelm Poland", BBC News (March 2022)
• [4] From "The United Nations: A Framework for Global Governance", U.S. Department of State (2022)