Statement by: Ms Yunei Kim, First Secretary, Australian Mission to the UN

As delivered

Thank you Chair.

No member state in this room will deny the utmost importance of combating the glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that fuel contemporary forms of racism. Australia too unequivocally supports this.

However, this resolution presented by the Russian Federation has been misrepresented and continues to be misused by the Russian Federation to justify its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. 
Australia has joined together Albania, Japan, Marshall Islands, Norway, and North Macedonia, in presenting an amendment to re-introduce OP4 to this resolution, which articulates Russia’s motivations to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine on the pretext of neo-Nazism.

Chair, OP4 is language taken verbatim from the Special Rapporteur’s report A/77/512, which I quote “notes, with alarm, that the Russian Federation has sought to justify its military invasion and territorial aggression in Ukraine on the purported basis of eliminating neo-Nazism.”

This report was presented by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism in 2022 but it remains relevant today. Just last month, the report by the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to the UN General Assembly found that Russia’s “goal is to denazify and demilitarise Ukraine” and that “Russia is not fighting against Ukrainians, but against Nazis”. Russia is using this as a false pretence for its illegal and immoral war. The Chair of the COI noted that some soldiers have believed the propaganda and volunteered to go to Ukraine “to kill Nazis”.

In addition to UN findings, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly articulated his justification of war against Ukraine to protect Russians from “neo-Nazi dictatorship.” Putin has said that Russia will continue fighting in Ukraine until it secures the “denazification” of Ukraine.

It is blatantly clear what the Russian Federation’s motivations are.

Member states, we urge you to hold the Russian Federation to the highest of standards, as facilitators of this resolution. This means, the UN cannot remain bystanders and endorse the Russian Federation’s actions to instrumentalise this resolution.

We urge you to demonstrate your principled positions to uphold international law, and promote and protect human rights, by voting in favour of the amendment.