Over 50 countries vote against anti-Nazism UN measure — Analysis
Final yr, the decision combating the glorification of Nazism was opposed by simply the US and Ukraine
A UN decision opposing the celebration of Nazism and associated ideologies has met with vital resistance from the US and different western democracies, with 52 nations voting in opposition to it on Friday.
The draft decision “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and different practices that contribute to fueling modern types of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and associated intolerance,” launched by Russia’s consultant to the UN, was adopted with 105 votes in assist. Along with the 52 votes in opposition to it, 15 nations abstained from selecting sides.
The decision expresses profound concern about glorifying Nazism, neo-Nazism and former Waffen SS members, condemning the development of monuments and the holding of public ceremonies honoring the Third Reich. Introducing the decision, the Russian delegate referenced a rise in xenophobia, anti-migrant sentiment, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, amongst different types of discrimination, as necessitating it.
The US and a number of other of its allies tried to clarify their vote in opposition to the measure by claiming Russia was exploiting Nazi atrocities to justify its army operation in Ukraine, insisting that to hitch them in condemning the lionization of Nazis could be letting them get away with weaponizing the Holocaust to serve their nefarious ends.
The UK accused Moscow of “furthering lies and distorting historical past,” even whereas acknowledging it was utilizing “legit human rights considerations raised by neo-Nazism mobilization” to justify its actions in Ukraine. The US went additional, arguing that Russia’s “pretextual use of combating neo-Nazism undermines real makes an attempt to fight neo-Nazism.” And Ukraine claimed Moscow’s anti-Nazism message had “nothing in frequent with the real struggle in opposition to Nazism and neo-Nazism,” which Kiev careworn it condemned in all types.
Australia, Japan, Liberia and North Macedonia proposed an modification to make clear that whereas they have been very a lot anti-Nazi, they have been additionally profoundly anti-Russian. Their addition “notes with alarm that the Russian Federation has sought to justify its territorial aggression in opposition to Ukraine on the purported foundation of eliminating neo-Nazism,” reminding everybody that the “pretextual use of neo-Nazism to justify territorial aggression severely undermines real makes an attempt to fight neo-Nazism.”
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Russia opposed the modification, accusing the writers of “attempting to drive a wedge between states” by dropping it on the committee on the final minute. It was adopted with 63 votes approving, 23 in opposition to, and 65 abstaining.
Moscow launched an identical decision final yr, earlier than the army operation in Ukraine had begun however after the US-backed coup had put in a authorities that allowed neo-Nazi teams just like the Azov Battalion and lionized Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian Nazi collaborator whose Group of Ukrainian Nationalists was liable for the bloodbath of tens of hundreds of Poles and Jews throughout World Battle II. The 2021 decision was opposed by simply two states: the US and Ukraine.
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