GENEVA, September 11. /TASS/. Countering modern forms of racism, including Neo-Nazism, should become a focal point for the United Nations, said Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Branch and Other International Organizations in Geneva Gennady Gatilov in his speech at the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

Addressing Michelle Bachelet, who started her work as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on September 1, the head of the Russian diplomatic mission asked her "to pay special attention to countering modern forms of racism, including Neo-Nazism."

In light of this, Gatilov, who heads the Russian delegation at the session, noted that "there are attempts not just to forget the lessons of World War II, but to totally replace the values," when "to benefit the political situation criminals are presented as liberators against those who fought against the Nazi ideology, and criminal cases are being launched over preposterous charges."

"Why do we spend hours talking about human rights, but conflicts related to racism are still high? Why did neo-Nazism become almost the official ideology in Ukraine?" the Russian permanent representative said.

Human rights have been used more often recently to benefit current interests, which, unfortunately, undervalues them in the public eye, the diplomat stated. He expressed confidence that the contribution of the new UN high commissioner to the de-politicization of work in the human rights protection area will be positively regarded both by the governments and the civil society. Russia is confident that the experience that Bachelet has will make it possible "to reach a fragile balance between the provision of human rights and the promotion of democracy on the one hand and the preservation of national identity and the observance of state sovereignly on the other hand."

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body of the UN system that was established in 2006, having replaced the Commission on Human Rights, which was often criticized for partiality. The Council consists of 47 states, each of which is elected by the majority of votes of the UN General Assembly members by direct secrete voting. Russia is not a member of the Human Rights Council currently, but it takes an active part in its sessions, including the current one.