54 countries vote against resolution on combating ne-Nazism
The UNGA has adopted a resolution that was submitted by Russia titled “Combating Glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and Other Practices that Contribute to Fuelling Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.’’
India has voted in favour of the Russian resolution of combating the glorification of Nazism at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
119 more countries, including Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Serbia, and Syria, supported the document.
There were 10 countries who abstained. Afghanistan– Ecuador, Myanmar,Palau,Panama, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Switzerland and Türkiye.
The European Union countries, who have suffered the most from Nazism, as a bloc have often abstained from voting on this resolution in previous years, stating concerns that Russia uses the resolution for political propaganda to justify its actions in Ukraine.
Thus along with USA, EU countries. Australia and Ukraine, a total of 51 nations voted against it.
The draft resolution was co-authored by Algeria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, China, North Korea, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Korea, Serbia, Syria, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, South Africa, and other countries. Russia has been traditionally initiating this resolution every year since 2005.
On November 14 in New York, the Third Committee of the 80th UN General Assembly adopted, at the initiative of the Russian Federation, the resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism, and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Forty-four states representing all regions of the world co-authored the resolution.
One hundred and twenty states voted in favour adopting the document; 51 delegations voted against, and 10 states abstained. The resolution condemned the glorification of the Nazi movement and exoneration of former SS members, including the Waffen-SS, that were found criminal by the Nuremberg Trials.
Serious concern was expressed about the war against memorials to liberators and fighters against Nazism that continues in some countries and has become part of their national policies in recent years. Concurrently, deep outrage was expressed at the marches glorifying Nazis and their facilitators, and neo-Nazis’ and radical nationalists’ torch marches.
In a similar trend, memorials are unveiled, streets, schools and other facilities are renamed after those who fought for Nazis or collaborated with them. Concerns have been expressed about attempts to grant national hero status to those who fought against the Allies during World War II, collaborated with Nazis and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has been particularly stressed that these acts dishonour the memory of the numerous victims of fascism and adversely affect the younger generation while being absolutely incompatible with the UN Charter commitments of the UN member states.
Another reason making Russia’s initiative rather topical is that we continue to witness more attempts to deny our shared history, with racist and xenophobic rhetoric becoming more common. Many states are experiencing incidents of Islamophobia, Christianophobia, Afrophobia, Arabophobia, Russophobia, and anti-Semitism.
The collective West and primarily the European Union, where all the above mentioned violations are systemic, has once again opposed the international efforts to counter the aggression of racism and xenophobia. We are particularly concerned about the stance taken by Germany, Italy and Japan, whose pandering to the dangerous tendencies — in view of their dark 20th century history — provokes consideration of the further trajectory pursued by the collective ‘democratic’ West.
The outcome of the vote is indicative of the unwavering and hefty support that the international community offers to the annual Russian initiative at the UN General Assembly.
This is particularly symbolic in the year when we mark the 80th anniversary of Victory over Nazism in World War II, the establishment of the United Nations, and the launch of the Nuremberg Trials.
Moscow is convinced that the adoption of this topical resolution will substantially contribute to the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.
The 74-paragraph document strongly condemns incidents linked with the glorification and propaganda of Nazism, welcomes efforts to preserve historical truth, recommends that measures be taken to avert the denial of crimes against humanity, to prevent revisionism in respect of World War II.
The resolution also “strongly condemns the use in educational settings of educational material and rhetoric that promulgate racism, discrimination, hatred and violence on the basis of ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief.”.
