Photo: Members of neo-Nazi Azov battalion take part in Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations in Kiev, Ukraine, August 24, 2020 © Reuters / Gleb Garanich
A resolution forwarded by Russia at the United Nations that condemns the 'glorification of Nazism’ has been passed successfully. However, the motion was opposed by both the United States and Ukraine. All delegations from the European Union, including Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, abstained on the vote.
The motion put forward by the Russian delegation asked all member states of the United Nations to pass laws designed to:
"Combat the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance… Glorification, in any form, of the Nazi movement, neo-Nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organization [and] revisionism in respect to the Second World War."
The proposal also demanded legislation be passed that sought to:
"Eliminate all forms of racial discrimination."
The Russian delegation at the UN have consistently put forward this bill on an annual basis for a number of years.
The Russian delegation acted furiously to the rejection of the proposals by the United States and Ukraine. The United States has consistently said that while it rejects Nazism and racism that it cannot implement such laws in the US due to the fact that doing so would impede the right to free speech which is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
While Ukraine did not give a specific reason for rejecting the proposals, it is currently experiencing a high level of tension with Russia. In 2014, Russian backed separatists in the Crimea and the Donbass regions of Ukraine demanded their independence from Ukraine. These separatists are widely believed to be strongly backed by Russia, and Ukraine states that Russian troops entered these Ukrainian territories in what was nothing short of an invasion. Russia denies these allegations.
Russia claims that the reason that the Ukrainians rejected the proposed law is because of the support for neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, including support from the Ukrainian government. It is known that neo-Nazi groups have been fighting on the side of Ukraine during the conflicts in Crimea and the Donbass. These groups include the Azov Battalion, who have allegedly received weapons and training from the United States.
While this may be true, the number of neo-Nazi supporters in Ukraine is minimal if voting results are anything to go by. The far-right Ukrainian and anti-Russian party 'Svoboda' achieved less than 2% of the Ukrainian vote in 2019. There have also been similar allegations that far-right groups associated with Russian-nationalism have been fighting on the behest of the separatists.
The Soviet Union, which existed up until 1991, and incorporated both modern-day Russia and modern-day Ukraine, often blamed Ukrainian nationalists for siding with and assisting the Nazis during the Second World War. It is known that many Ukrainian nationalists served with the Nazis during the occupation of Ukraine and even assisted in rounding up Jews to be slaughtered.
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