The U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the organization’s Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
Ninety-three member states voted in favor of a resolution to suspend Russia, while 24 voted against and 58 abstained. Countries may be suspended from the HRC by a vote of two-thirds of assembly members who cast a “yes” or “no” vote.
Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday that the U.S. would attempt to suspend Russia from the HRC after Ukraine claimed that Russian forces had killed dozens of civilians in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb.
“Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce,” Thomas-Greenfield said at the time. “And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly vote to remove them.”
Over 100 civilians were discovered buried in mass graves in Bucha after Russian forces left the area, and some bodies were found lying in the street, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Officials and civilians have discovered hundreds of additional bodies in the days since, with some bodies showing signs of torture, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of war crimes by its forces in Ukraine.
The U.N. Human Rights Council was founded in 2006, and Russia is the second country to be expelled from the body. The first country voted off the council was Libya, which was removed in 2011 after civil war ended the reign of Moammar Gadhafi.