WASHINGTON, November 4. /TASS/. Russia has begun drafting a resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism and Neo-Nazism due to be considered by the United Nations General Assembly, the Russian Embassy in Washington said in a statement.
"Russia has started the preparation for another United Nations General Assembly Resolution entitled "Combating glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance". This resolution is traditionally co-sponsored by dozens of countries," the statement said.
"The document is always adopted by the overwhelming majority. Only a few states vote against. And the number of opponents is consistently decreasing," it said.
In 2014, Ukraine joined the countries that vote against this resolution, "which became a logical result of a coup in Kiev staged by the armed nationalists," the Embassy said.
"The resolution expresses serious concerns over the spread of extremists movements and political parties based on ideologies of racial and national prejudice and condemns the glorification of the Nazi movement and former members of the Waffen SS organization, including by erecting monuments and memorials," according to the statement.
The authors of the document express concerns over the continuing attempts to "desecrate or demolish monuments erected in remembrance of those who fought against Nazism (in this regard Poland deserves special mention), as well as to unlawfully exhume or remove the remains of such persons."
US against resolution
Last year, the adoption of the resolution "had a symbolic meaning - it happened when the 70th Anniversary of the Verdicts of the Nuremberg trial was celebrated." "Only Ukraine and the US voted against it. Washington representative always votes against it," the Embassy said.
The Embassy regrets the "unwillingness of the US to support the document given that their persistent attempts to explain their position by concern for the freedom of expression do not appear convincing." "Especially amid the American society’s reaction to the developments in the US mentioned in the resolution."
"The adoption of this resolution is yet another clear signal sent by an impressive majority of the international community to those countries that need to take urgent measures to counter attempts to glorify Nazis, including those from Waffen SS or who collaborated with the Nazis," it said. "That is a signal to step over to the right side of history."
In November 2016, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution on the need to combat the glorification of Nazism and counter the contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The US, Ukraine and Palau were the only countries to vote against the document submitted by Russia and co-authored by 54 countries. A total of 131 countries, including Belarus, Venezuela, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, China and Syria, voted for the resolution, while 48 countries, including the European Union member-countries, abstained. In 2015, a similar resolution was supported by 126 countries, while four (Canada, Palau, US and Ukraine) voted against.