Earlier we described the situation with Russia’s permanent provocations in United Nations bodies, connected with UN General Assembly resolutions, devoted to glorification of Nazism, that continues in the last decade.
Annually Russia initiates there the adoption of resolutions of same name and similar text, as “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”; for example such document 76/149 was adopted by UN GA on 16 December 2021.
Of course, the Russia’s goal of such propaganda activities in not in the countering Nazism, but in demonstrating the alleged “unity” with other states, that support those documents by voting in UN GA Third Committee and in Assembly, and to criticise the democratic states as allegedly “not fighting” with neo-Nazism and racism.
So it’s not a surprise that those documents are used actively by Russia in dissemination of anti-Ukrainian propaganda and their adoption is traditionally “celebrated” by the Russian MFA with publishing by aggressor relevant falsified “White books” and so on.
As we wrote earlier, after our Association activities with collaboration to UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, her Report A/HRC/50/61 stressed in 2022 that Russia criminally used numerous “justifications” for its military aggression against Ukraine, in particular the alleged “need to deNazify Ukraine”.
This Report’s reference to our positions was supported by UN member states, that amended Russia-proposed next draft of mentioned annual UN GA resolution by point 4, where Assembly “notes with alarm that the Russian Federation has sought to justify its territorial aggression against Ukraine on the purported basis of eliminating neo-Nazism, and underlines that the pretextual use of neo-Nazism to justify territorial aggression seriously undermines genuine attempts to combat neo-Nazism.”
After such amended UN GA Resolution 77/204 was adopted on 15 December 2022 our activities on that issue by corresponding with UN Special Rapporteur and other UN bodies was continued, as we understood the attention, that Russia pays to that issue and the importance of those annual resolutions in aggressor’s next plans to undermine the world order and Ukrainian sovereignty.
Corresponding interaction of the ARC with the specialized structures of the UN on informing about war crimes and massive violations of human rights by the Russian occupiers was continued and strengthened in 2023-2024, especially with attention of personal changes of UN Special Rapporteur.
That was reflected, inter alia, in UN Special Rapporteur’s A/78/302, where the new Rapporteur reminded in 2023 about of our Association’s submissions on that issue.
So Russia-prepared draft of that annual resolution A/C.3/78/L.7, initiated via UN GA Third Committee, was amended by document A/C.3/78/L.58 proposed by Albania, Australia, Guatemala, Japan, Liberia, Marshall Islands and North Macedonia, adopted by Committee and later by UN GA, in final UN GA resolution 78/190 on 19 December 2023, with the same point 4, as it was in resolution 77/204.
Our Association’s next activities on that issue during 2024 were reflected in UN Special Rapporteur’s Report A/79/195 and is Report A/HRC/56/67, that reflected again our information on aggressor’s next spikes in hate speech, xenophobia and racially discriminatory statements.
In December, 2024 aggressor’s MFA stressed specially again about the support by the UN General Assembly of the next UN GA annual resolution. And again, discussions in the Third Committee started with amendments of Russia’s draft, regarding relevant document A/C.3/79/L.51, proposed by Albania, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway and Ukraine, adding again relevant point about Russian aggression.
Introducing the amendment, Norway’s delegate stressed that this year’s draft was again incorrectly presented by Russia as an alleged “technical rollover”, while the text is designed to combat the glorification of Nazism, the Russian Federation is doing the exact opposite, delegate cautioned, condemning the instrumentalization of history, which turns the draft into a vehicle for propaganda.
Many other delegates echoed the concern that the draft continues to be misused by Moscow to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine on the pretext of neo-Nazism, citing it as a glaring example of Kremlin’s efforts to further its geopolitical aims.
Russia-related delegates tried to declare that allegedly “it is a thematic and not a country-specific resolution”, declaring on alleged “selective approach” and alleged “hindering constructive dialogue and diluting the draft”. But such democratic states’ amendments were approved by the Committee, by a vote of 66 in favour to 43 against, with 51 abstentions, and later resolution 79/160 was adopted on 17 December 2024 with same point 4, that stressed on condemning Russia’s territorial aggression against Ukraine.
Ironically, but due to their own common propaganda efforts, Russia and its satellite states had to vote in favour of that final resolution in UN GA, published by UN in late January, 2025 with above-described amendments.
This sutiation is still extremely serious and important, taking into account the Russia’s permanent strong efforts on that issue and described debates in the Third Committee, espesially in situation of Russia’s counter-claims, passed to International Court of Justice in December, 2024 in Case 182, initiated by Ukraine under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 2022.
So our Association will continue its own efforts on that issue, describing and reminding to UN bodies and agencies facts about Russian aggression, Russia’s Nazism and racism at Russia-occupied territories, including the Crimea, and in Kremlin’s propaganda.
