United Nations Accuses Russia Of Human Rights Abuses

Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military’s General Staff speaks at a briefing at the Russian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A Russian lawmaker says if the Syrian rebels do not leave Aleppo by the end of a new humanitarian pause, Russian and Syrian forces will “purge” the city.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff speaks at a briefing at the Russian Defense Ministry's headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A Russian lawmaker says if the Syrian rebels do not leave Aleppo by the end of a new humanitarian pause, Russian and Syrian forces will "purge" the city. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Photo
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military’s General Staff speaks at a briefing at the Russian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A Russian lawmaker says if the Syrian rebels do not leave Aleppo by the end of a new humanitarian pause, Russian and Syrian forces will “purge” the city.
Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff speaks at a briefing at the Russian Defense Ministry's headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. A Russian lawmaker says if the Syrian rebels do not leave Aleppo by the end of a new humanitarian pause, Russian and Syrian forces will "purge" the city. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Photo

United Nations Accuses Russia Of Human Rights Abuses

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Audio available after show airs.

Russia this week  withdrew as a signatore of the International Criminal Court, on the heels of the United Nations’ condemnation of Russia for its actions in Crimea and in Syria. 

According to Human Rights watch, a recent joint Russian and Syrian airstrike in Idlib could constitute a war crime.

We get the latest on Russia’s human rights record from Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division.