Edited by Sam Thielman

Yesterday, the U.N. General Assembly voted to kick Russia off the Human Rights Council. This was a somewhat symbolic but necessary move, given the mounting catalog of indiscriminate murder, rape, and other Russian atrocities in Ukraine. I say symbolic not because the council is powerless — it is currently overseeing an investigation that would become a centerpiece of any future war crimes trial if one ever happens (more on that shortly) — but because Russia was already severely outvoted. Still, the boot was, as the U.S. delegation keeps crowing, largely unprecedented.

But after the Americans get done with their victory lap, they might want to take a look at the specifics of the vote. While 93 countries voted for Russia’s removal from the council, 24 voted against it, while 58 others abstained. That is narrower than the much-vaunted vote just over a month ago, on March 2, when 141 countries voted to condemn the initial invasion — with just Russia and four of its most pariah allies including Syria and North Korea voting against, and 35 abstaining.

Several of the most celebrated diplomatic victories in the March vote are backsliding. China and Iran both abstained on the last resolution; they voted with Russia yesterday. Dozens of key former “yes” votes — including Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, and Indonesia — now formally abstained. They joined other populous and influential fence-sitters, especially India.

Egypt’s representative explained their latest vote (or rather non-vote) like this:

“Egypt does not feel comfortable with double standards and partiality. Many times before, such resolutions were not adopted in cases of human-rights violations … We are concerned with the violations of human rights and the obligations of all states in this regard and we believe that such serious violations should be dealt with decisively in accordance with the United Nations rules and procedures, in an adequate manner.”

Let’s not miss the multifarious layers of hypocrisy here: an autocratic Egyptian regime that has committed gross human rights violations accusing other states of moral double standards. But managing hypocrisies is the lifeblood of the international system. If the United States and its European allies can’t convince non-aligned countries to oppose the invasion, it will doom any chance of pressuring Russia into withdrawing without significant military escalation — not to mention the odds of ever holding Putin and his fellow war-crimes perpetrators accountable.

Though Putin’s most ardent and gullible defenders try to deny it, Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine. This was obvious before the Russians slaughtered dozens of Ukrainians