Statement

by H.E. Mr. Yuriy Sergeyev, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations during consideration by the General Committee of Ukraine’s request to include an additional item entitled “Commemoration of the seventy fifth anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine (Holodomor)” in the agenda of the sixty second session of the United Nations General Assembly

Mr. Chairman,

Honorable members of the General Committee,

First of all, I want to thank you for summoning this meeting to consider Ukraine’s request to include an additional item entitled “Commemoration of the seventy fifth anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine (Holodomor)” in the agenda of the sixty second session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Last autumn we asked for inclusion of this item in conformity with the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, although due to complexity of the issue which required us to “synchronize watches” with delegations concerned, it is only now that it has become possible. We are grateful to our international partners in the UN for the important input and words of advice that have helped us come to this point.

This year is the last in the biennial commemoration of the 75^th anniversary of the 1932-1933 artificial famine, which claimed lives of millions of Ukrainian people. Current 62^nd session of the General Assembly is an opportunity for us to honor the memory of victims of the tragedy on the wide international level at the time when similar commemorations are being held all-over Ukraine.

 I would like to emphasize that our request is of commemorative rather than of historical nature, as it is not our purpose to have it considered in substance. Consideration of commemorative matters is an established practice for the General Assembly to demonstrate its solidarity with a member-state, regarding an exceptionally important page in its history.

Mr. Chairman,

It may be hardly expedient to raise the issue of Holodomor for the sake of history itself as we cannot change the past and bring any relief to victims of the famine.

It may be aimless to do that if your goal is to seek revenge – this is always counterproductive. Ukraine has no-one to bring to justice for the murder of millions of its people. The perpetrators of Holodomor have died ingloriously, so has the country where the crime was committed ceased to exist.

Yet, it is important to remember Holodomor and use its lessons as history can help us overcome contemporary problems and avoid repetition of past tragedies.

In 2003 a Joint Statement on the occasion of the 70^th anniversary of Holodomor was circulated as an official document of the General Assembly and became an important milestone in promotion of international awareness about the famine. That document encouraged research and dissemination of information about the events of 1932-33 in order for that knowledge “to strengthen effectiveness of the rule of law and enhance respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

Ukraine shares the pain of other peoples of the former Soviet Union that suffered from famine in 1930s. Such feelings were unequivocally expressed in the abovementioned statement and on a number of other occasions. In the meanwhile our approach to the problem of Holodomor is based on the available archival materials and eyewitness accounts which solely refer to the events that took place in the territory of our country.

Ukraine has released Holodomor records from the ex-KGB archives that uncovered the purposes and mechanisms of realization of the policy which resulted in death of millions of its people.

Holodomor has become an object of research in many countries. In less than five years plentiful archival materials have being published in Great Britain, Italy, France and in other states.

All those findings show that specifically in the Ukrainian case famine had a deliberate and organized nature.

Through the implementation of repressive measures, among which

-         imposition of excessive grain procurement quotas,

-         confiscation of everything that was good for food,

-         prohibition on trade in foodstuffs,

-         deployment of internal and border troops to keep the starving people from traveling to other regions of the USSR in search of food,

the Ukrainian population appeared in a ghetto, where it was not possible to survive.

Mr. Chairman,

I have come to seek your positive decision today because by holding commemorative events on the 75th anniversary of Holodomor, Ukraine wants:

-         to enhance the international solidarity on Holodomor so that present and forthcoming generations of its people would live with greater confidence in a more secure future;

-         to give member-states an opportunity to learn about the newly discovered archival materials which provide the true and objective information about the huge crime that was committed in Ukraine in the early 1930s;

-         to encourage further research of Holodomor and study of its lessons as this can help prevent attempts of killing by starvation for political or any other purposes anyplace in future.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize that inclusion of an additional item entitled “Commemoration of the seventy fifth anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine (Holodomor)” in the agenda of the sixty second session of the United Nations General Assembly will have no implication on the United Nations budget.

I thank you for attention and sincerely count on your understanding and support.