Council Of Europe Officially Expels Russia After 26 Years Of Membership

The Council of Europe says its Committee of Ministers has officially decided to expel Russia from the human rights body, the first time a member state has been kicked out of the group.

The Strasbourg-based council said in a statement on March 16 that it had unanimously adopted a motion "which considered that the Russian Federation can no longer be a member state of the organization."

The decision, made a day after Russia informed the organization that it was withdrawing, means "the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership."

The council suspended Russia on February 25, the day after it launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric has described the attack on Ukraine as a "flagrant violation" of the statute of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, which the body oversees.