MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on 90 years after the Holodomor: recognising the mass killing through starvation as genocide

12.12.2022 - (2022/3001(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Pedro Marques, Tonino Picula, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0559/2022

B9‑0560/2022

European Parliament resolution on 90 years after the Holodomor: recognising the mass killing through starvation as genocide

(2022/3001(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine, in particular its resolution of 23 October 2008 on the commemoration of the Holodomor, the Ukraine artificial famine (1932-1933)[1],

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,

– having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Holodomor, the artificial famine created by the Soviet regime in the early 1930s, caused the death by starvation of millions of people in Ukraine, notably during the winter of 1932/1933, while further millions of people died in other parts of the Soviet Union, for example in Kazakhstan or in regions along the rivers Volga and Don;

B. whereas mass murder by starvation was used in Ukraine both as a means of punishment against those who protested or were suspected of resisting the forced collectivisation of farms and agricultural land and as a means of suppressing Ukrainian national identity;

1. Commemorates all the victims of the Holodomor, which is among the darkest chapters of Europe’s common history in the twentieth century, when totalitarian regimes committed the most inhuman crimes, costing millions of Europeans their lives, depriving them of family members, of personal safety and prosperity or of their hopes for a better future;

2. Recognises the Holodomor as a crime against humanity, which can also be described as genocide in so far as it was committed with the intent to destroy a group of people by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction;

3. Expresses its wish that the commemoration of the Holodomor and an increased awareness of the totalitarian crimes of the past may contribute to preventing the repetition of similar crimes in the present or future and to combating them with resolve;

4. Welcomes the efforts of Ukrainian academia and civil society to uphold the memory of the Holodomor so as to contribute to reconciling people and society with the past;

5. Condemns the current Russian regime’s abuse and manipulation of historical memory for the purpose of political ideology merely to support the survival of the regime; reiterates its condemnation of the forced dissolution of the International Memorial Society and the Memorial Human Rights Centre, which set international standards for the documentation of, research into and education on political repression and totalitarian crimes in the Soviet Union and which had become a model for human rights work in many countries around the world;

6. Calls for the EU and its Member States, public and private institutions, civil society and individuals to actively denounce and refute all attempts at distorting historical facts or manipulating public opinion in Europe through false historical narratives that are fabricated and disseminated to support the ideology and survival of criminal regimes;

7. Notes the striking parallels between the Soviet regime, which systematically denied the Holodomor, discredited Ukrainian nationhood and the memory of the Holodomor, and criminalised the mere mention of it, and the current Russian regime, which denies that it is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, is again seeking to discredit Ukrainian nationhood, rejects Ukrainian national identity and has criminalised independent reporting about the war;

8. Emphasises that Russia’s current war of aggression against Ukraine highlights the need for a thorough historical evaluation of, and a transparent public debate about, the crimes of the Soviet regime, most importantly in Russia itself, in order to raise public awareness, build resilience against disinformation and distorted historical narratives and prevent the repetition of similar crimes;

9. Rejects the instrumentalisation of historical remembrance for political purposes as being contrary to the respect for the dignity of the victims of historical tragedies and crimes;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and to the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine.

 

 

• [1] OJ C 15E, 21.1.2010, p. 78.