- Russia was the president of the UN Security Council when it invaded Ukraine last February.
- It’s now assumed that role again, despite protests from Ukraine.
- This comes at a time when the ICC has an arrest warrant out for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia is once again the head of the UN Security Council, a body tasked with ensuring international peace.
The last time that Russia held the position of president — in February 2022 — it invaded Ukraine, the BBC noted.
The UN Security Council is made up of 15 members, 10 of which are voted in for two-year stints. The other five are permanent members and have veto power. They are the United States, France, the UK, China, and Russia.
The 15 members rotate the presidency every month. The president of the Security Council is considered the face of the body and represents it in front of the larger United Nations.
While Ukraine protested Russia’s term as president, as a permanent member, there is little any of the other members can do.
Russia’s term as Security Council president comes less than two weeks after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest.
The court accused Putin of war crimes, alleging that Putin had ordered the abduction of children in occupied parts of Ukraine, and sent them to Russia.
Several countries have said they would arrest Putin given the opportunity.
—Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 31, 2023
Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhaylo Podolyak, called Russia’s presidency of the Security Council another “rape of international law.”
“An entity that wages an aggressive war, violates the norms of humanitarian and criminal law, destroys the UN Charter, neglects nuclear safety, can’t head the world’s key security body,” Podolyak wrote in a tweet.