European Union denies support to unilateral Russian “glorification of Nazism” resolution

17.11.2017

The EU’s 28 Member States, including Estonia, abstained in regard to a resolution introduced by Russia in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, entitled “Combating glorification of Nazism: inadmissibility of certain practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”.

A total of 125 countries voted in favour, 2 against, and 51 abstained. The EU countries voted as a unanimous bloc and expressed their position in a joint resolution. Russia is on the other hand using a resolution dating back to 2005 to advance its own narrow political agenda.

Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser said the goal of the UN was to raise awareness of problems facing the world and to seek constructive solutions to them.

“Combating all contemporary extremist and totalitarian ideologies must be the shared priority of the entire international community. Estonia has always condemned all forms of extremism and calls on all countries to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination,” said Mikser.

The EU condemned Russia’s unilateral and selective approach to combating racism. With each year, the wording of the resolution has moved further away from racism and dissemination and instead sets out a very one-sided interpretation of history. The EU stressed that it is important to keep alive the memories of all people, nations and states that suffered in the Second World War and to remember the victims of the conflict. Moreover, the end of WWII did not mean freedom to many peoples and their populations, but rather continued occupation and crimes against humanity.

The EU took part actively in negotiations on the resolution, aiming to strengthen the human rights aspect and to incorporate references to the crimes of totalitarianism, but similarly to past occasions, the EU’s proposals were not taken into consideration.

Additional information:

Armo Vask
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Communication Department

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