The Council of Europe (“the Council”) suspended Russia’s right to representation in the Committee of Ministers (“the Committee”) and in the parliamentary assembly in a meeting held Friday, in light of the armed attack on Ukraine.

The Council “condemned in the strongest terms the armed attack on Ukraine,” at a meeting held on Thursday, extending its unwavering support to Ukraine and committing to hold another meeting the following day to determine further measures to be taken to address the situation.

In furtherance of the same and in accordance with Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, the Committee decided to suspend Russia’s right to representation effective immediately. Although the said right has been suspended, the judge elected to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Russia will retain their position and the Court will continue to hear applications against Russia. The Committee clarified that the suspension is temporary and that channels of communication for resolution of the dispute are wide open.

This development follows Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović’s statement on Thursday highlighting the inevitable human rights and international humanitarian law violations which would ensue from the violence and displacement of people in Ukraine. Mijatović called on Russia to immediately halt its military actions in Ukraine and on the Council to support Ukraine and take measures protect and accommodate civilians fleeing the region.

The casualties in Ukraine are mounting as the conflict continues and neighboring countries are preparing for an influx of refugees fleeing the armed attack. Many western nations, including US, UK, Canada and the EU, have also imposed strict sanctions on Russia in an attempt to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine.