The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) has called for the establishment of a commission to investigate rights violations committed in the context of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, TASS reported.

As noted in the resolution adopted at the Council's session in Geneva on Friday, the commission will consist of three experts and its initial term will be one year.

Thirty-two of the 47 countries in the Council, including the Western states that actively promoted it, voted for the document, while the delegations of Russia and Eritrea voted against it and 13 countries, including China, India, Cuba, Venezuela, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, abstained.

The HRC decided to urgently establish an independent international commission of inquiry consisting of three human rights experts to be appointed by the council president for an initial period of one year. This commission would be mandated to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of Russia's special military operation.

It is also mandated to collect, consolidate and analyze evidence of human rights violations and identify individuals and organizations responsible for such violations with a view to bringing those responsible to justice. The HRC decided to hear an oral report on the work of the commission at its 51st session, to be held in autumn 2022, and to consider a comprehensive written report at its 52nd session in spring 2023.

The HRC is an intergovernmental body of the UN system. It was established in 2006, replacing the Commission on Human Rights, which was often criticized for being biased. The Council is made up of 47 states, each elected by a majority vote of the UN General Assembly by direct secret ballot.