PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL
20.11.2007
by Joseph Daul, João de Deus Pinheiro, Marian-Jean Marinescu, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Charles Tannock, Laima Liucija Andrikienė and Michael Gahler
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
and by Cristiana Muscardini, Adam Bielan, Inese Vaidere and Gintaras Didžiokas
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the recognition of the Holodomor - artificial famine - of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as a genocide against the Ukrainian nation
B6‑0480/2007
European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the recognition of the Holodomor - artificial famine - of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as a genocide against the Ukrainian nation
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Treaty on the European Union,
– having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
– having regard to the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,
– having regard to the Joint Statement during the 58th Plenary Session of the UN General Assembly on the 70th Anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine, supported by 63 States, including all (then) 25 EU Member States,
– having regard to the Law of the State of Ukraine on 'the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine', adopted on 28 November 2006, which qualifies this artificial famine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people,
– having regard to Rule 114(1) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a basic principle of the EU,
B. whereas the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as any of a number of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group,
C. whereas the genocide of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, which resulted in the death of millions of Ukrainians, was aimed at the extermination of social strata that played a fundamental role in the culture and distinctive existence of the Ukrainian nation,
D. whereas this artificial famine was organised by the then Soviet Communist regime,
E. whereas Ukraine, referring to the acts and principles of international law, appeals to the international community for historical equity,
F. whereas condemning instances of genocide should help to prevent similar crimes in the future,
1. Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:
- (a)that it recognise the Holodomor (artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine) as a genocide against the Ukrainian people;
- (b)that it strongly condemn the acts of the then Soviet Communist regime directed against the Ukrainian nation and marked by mass annihilation and violations of human rights and freedoms;
- (c)that it express its sympathy with the Ukrainian people, who suffered this tragedy, and pay its respects to those Ukrainians who died as a consequence of the artificial famine of 1932-1933;
2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission, the Government and Parliament of Ukraine, the Secretary General of the UN, the Secretary General of the OSCE and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.