Statement in Explanation of Vote (before the vote)

by Permanent Representative of Ukraine 

H.E. Ambassador 

Mr. Andrii Melnyk

on the consideration of the report of the Third Committee

15 December 2025

 

Madam President,

First of all, I would like to thank the Chair of the Third Committee Ambassador Cherdchai Chaivaivid for his leadership and, the Bureau and the Secretariat for their excellent work throughout this year’s session.

I have the honor to present the draft resolution entitled “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol” (document L.33).

I wish to thank 49 Member States who co-sponsored it.

My delegation brings this resolution before this distinguished Assembly

• first - to ensure that the international community remains focused on the ongoing massive human rights violations committed by the Russian Federation in these territories, and
• secondly - to strengthen the existing UN mechanisms for protection, monitoring, and accountability.

Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in 2014, the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine have become dark zones of impunity, marked by systematic and widespread violations of human rights and horrible daily war crimes.

Even though Moscow wanted to conceal the traces of these horrendous crimes, due to the attention of the General Assembly, the Russian military invasion has become one of the most thoroughly documented conflicts in history.

This extensive record is supported by numerous credible UN reports, including those of the International Commission of Inquiry and other international monitors.

It clearly demonstrates Russia’s state policy of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross human rights violations at an unprecedented scale.

These include summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and inhumane treatment of civilian detainees and prisoners of war.

All these crimes are not isolated instances: they form part of a deliberate policy aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity, destroying cultural and historical heritage, silencing independent media, imposing Russian citizenship, and forcibly indoctrinating Ukrainian children.

Those who resist face arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings, and even the threat of having their children taken away.

This resolution provides a practical tool for the United Nations – first - to continue documenting all these horrible human rights violations, second - to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees, including civilians, political prisoners, and Crimean Tatars, — and third, to signal that these violations will never be tolerated.

Madam President,

Some colleagues have been asking why this resolution is still necessary, suggesting it might impede a recently launched peace process by the United States, urging that we “turn the page.”

My response is very simple: these arguments are misleading and fail to reflect reality on the ground.

We do believe that, thanks to these mediation efforts, we have a real chance to end the bloodshed and suffering of millions of Ukrainians instigated by Russia and achieve a just and lasting peace.

Yet even when such a peace agreement is reached, this does not mean that the serious issues addressed in this resolution, in particular the massive human rights violations on Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, will automatically disappear.

On the contrary, there is a risk that these crimes could fade from the UN’s radar, and the fate of millions of Ukrainians trapped in the occupied territories would be neglected. We have no moral right to allow this scenario.

Madam President,

Before we vote, I wish especially to address those Member States that, in recent years, and during the last vote in the Third Committee just a few weeks ago, chose to abstain.

In doing so, they offered various arguments that are not convincing; some say they do not like country-related resolutions.

On behalf of millions of Ukrainian citizens who have become hostages of Russian occupation, I call upon you to reconsider this approach.

Brutal, inhumane methods of the oppressive regime of Russia can only be compared to the Nazi barbarism of the Third Reich.

Those who believe that a formal abstention is a purely neutral position should understand that, in practice, it only encourages Russia’s ongoing mass violations.

This terrible war of annihilation and Russian occupation will — sooner or later — come to an end.

But your votes on crucial resolutions such as this one will be forever recorded in history, and they will not be forgotten.

I urge you to abandon the policy of abstention or not showing up and vote in favor of this resolution.

Take the right side of history. Not somewhere in the middle.

By voting YES on the draft resolution L.33, the General Assembly will send a clear message to Russia as occupying power: the international community is watching and stands united in upholding human rights and accountability.

Madam President,

Let me now very briefly turn to draft resolution L.2 titled “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,” which will be considered today by the distinguished Assembly.

As I stated, the massive human rights violations and atrocities committed by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories — crimes so horrific that they make one’s hair stand on end — are, in many respects, reminiscent of the barbaric methods used by the Nazis during the Second World War.

I had to mention this shocking fact not without reason.

It is deeply hypocritical for Russia to champion a resolution condemning an ideology of Nazism while employing its very methods.

I must reiterate Ukraine’s long-standing position: this draft resolution does not seek to combat these evils.

Instead, Russia has weaponized its ridiculous claim of “countering neo-Nazism” for one simple reason: to justify its own mass crimes against Ukrainians.

For nearly four years, under the absurd pretext of “fighting neo-Nazism,” Russia has waged an unprovoked and genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine, in flagrant violation of the Charter.

Russian forces attack civilians and critical infrastructure, commit executions, torture, and sexual violence; and forcibly deport Ukrainian civilians, including children.

Russian propaganda fuels hatred, collectively labelling Ukrainians as Nazis, normalizes genocidal rhetoric, and denies Ukraine’s right to exist.

To expose the true purpose of the draft, we are grateful to those delegations who introduced a substantive amendment.

It clarifies that Russia is just manipulating history and distorting our shared victory over Nazism, a victory to which 10 million Ukrainians sacrificed their lives.

Madam President,

I, therefore, call upon Member States to support retaining this amendment and to reject any attempt to remove it.

And yet, even with this amendment, the draft remains a tool of hair-raising deception.

For this reason, Ukraine urges all delegations to vote against draft resolution L.2.

I thank you. And Happy Birthday Madam President!