UNGA 80 Third Committee

Explanation of vote before the vote

by Deputy Representative of Ukraine Ms. Khrystyna Hayovyshyn

on the draft resolution “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”

14 November 2025

Chair,

I would like to deliver a statement in explanation of vote on draft resolution L.2.

Ukraine reaffirms an unequivocal condemnation of all forms of Nazism, neo-Nazism, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.

We reiterate our long-standing position that this draft resolution does not genuinely aim to combat these abhorrent phenomena.

Instead, the Russian Federation systematically exploits this annual resolution as a propaganda tool to justify its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and the horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity it continues to commit.

For nearly four years, under the false pretext of “fighting neo-Nazism,” Russia has waged an unprovoked and genocidal campaign against my country — in blatant violation of the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law. Its forces have deliberately targeted civilians and critical infrastructure; carried out executions, torture, and sexual violence; and forcibly deported Ukrainian civilians, including children.

Russian state propaganda relentlessly fuels hatred toward Ukrainians, normalizes genocidal rhetoric, and denies Ukraine’s very right to exist. By deporting and indoctrinating Ukrainian children from occupied territories — with the openly stated goal “to make Ukrainians Russians again” — the Russian authorities are engaging in practices chillingly reminiscent of the very ideology this resolution purports to condemn. If all of this does not constitute a manifestation of Nazi-like ideology, then what does?

Eighty years after the Nuremberg Tribunal, we are working to establish a new Special Tribunal to address the same pattern of war crimes and crimes against humanity that Russia has committed in Ukraine and against the Ukrainian people.

Chair,

To expose the true purpose of this draft, we are grateful to the delegations that introduced a substantive amendment again this year, and to all delegations that supported it. The amendment makes clear that Russia is manipulating history and distorting our shared victory over Nazism — a victory to which millions of Ukrainians contributed with their lives.

However, even with this amendment, draft resolution L.2 remains a vehicle for manipulation. The Russian Federation has weaponized the pretext of “countering neo-Nazism” to rationalize its inhumane war crimes in Ukraine. It is the height of hypocrisy for the aggressor state to present a resolution condemning an ideology whose methods and rhetoric it itself employs.

For these reasons, Ukraine calls for a vote on draft resolution L.2 and urges delegations to vote AGAINST it.

Thank you.