UNGA Adopts Anti-Nazi Resolution, with US & EU Voting Against It

Al Mayadeen

The UN General Assembly adopted a Russian resolution on Thursday to combat the glorification of Nazism.

The document, titled “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance,” was adopted in a 120-50 vote with 10 abstentions.

The United States, EU states, and Ukraine voted against the resolution, whereas China and Serbia were among the countries that supported the resolution. Turkey, Afghanistan, South Korea, and Switzerland abstained.

The resolution includes propositions to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination by all means, including legislation upon urgency. Furthermore, the resolution strongly condemns the use of educational materials as well as Nazi rhetoric in training that promotes racism, discrimination, hatred, and violence based on ethnicity, nationality, religion, or belief.

Is the United States openly embracing Nazism?

Last December, the United States, and Ukraine were the only two states to vote against the anti-Nazism UNGA resolution. The resolution recorded an earth-shattering 49 abstentions, mostly coming from Europe, where racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia are rampant. Other countries that abstained included Japan, South Korea, and Canada.

Earlier this month, the US Congress has gone through with a decision to repeal the ban on Ukrainian neo-Nazi battalions, which essentially paves the way for US financial and military assistance to be sent to these aggressive parties.

The Azov and Aidar battalions – two of the most prominent neo-Nazi parties that have been accused of greasing bullets with pig fat to shoot Muslims – have been active on the ground in disenfranchised areas in eastern Ukraine before the said area joined Russia by popular referendum earlier this year. The battalions are official bodies within the Ukrainian military.

The Nation reports that the Pentagon lobbied the House Defense Appropriations Committee to remove the amendment backed by Conyers and Yoho, arguing that such funding was already prohibited under another law.

Commentary on the UNGA Adoption of the Anti-Nazi Resolution, December 15, 2022