At the final session of the OSCE Ministerial Council, 43 countries, in a joint statement, condemned the Stalinist regime's crime against the Ukrainian people during the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor. They also expressed concern over Russia's attempt to use food as a weapon.
As reported by Ukrinform, the joint statement was read by the Permanent Representative of the United States to the OSCE, Michael Carpenter. The signatories highlighted that during the Holodomor, the cruel actions and policies of the Stalinist regime led to a severe and prolonged mass famine, resulting in the deaths of millions of innocent people in Ukraine.
The document acknowledged recent efforts to inform the public about the Holodomor in OSCE participating states, the United Nations, and its specialized agencies. The statement called on participating states to contribute to spreading information and knowledge about the Holodomor in Ukraine and commemorating its memory as a dark chapter in world history.
Some OSCE participating states have already recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as a state-inspired famine campaign, while a number of states or their legislative bodies have acknowledged the Holodomor as a genocide.
"For decades, the Holodomor - a horrific act of inhumanity - was silenced and denied by the Soviet Union. Today, the Russian Federation continues attempts to glorify Stalinism and deny the Holodomor and other atrocities committed by the communist regime, including by persecuting individuals and organizations attempting to expose such Soviet-era atrocities," the statement said.
The signatory countries expressed deep concern about the repetition of unacceptable actions from the past.
"Today, the Kremlin is again trying to forcibly subjugate the Ukrainian people. It is once again using food not only as a weapon against Ukraine but also against many countries worldwide, restricting Ukrainian food exports critical for global food security. Today, Russian aggression is accompanied by Stalinist methods of dehumanization campaigns, mass atrocities, harsh filtration procedures, forced displacements, deportations, including of children, as well as practices of denial, suppression, and punishment of manifestations of Ukrainian identity," the statement noted.
All these actions by Russia aim to "break the will of the Ukrainian people and subjugate the sovereign state of Ukraine," the signatories emphasized their commitment to hold all responsible parties accountable for the sake of justice and peace and to prevent similar atrocities and violations.
"We applaud Ukraine's initiatives to ensure global food supply despite Russia's attempts to turn food into a weapon by limiting Ukrainian food exports, undermining global food security, and jeopardizing supplies on which people worldwide depend. We firmly condemn the theft and destruction by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian agricultural products, equipment, and infrastructure, as well as Russia's efforts to prevent Ukrainian food from reaching the most vulnerable populations worldwide," the statement continued.
The signatories highlighted that the 90th anniversary of the Great Famine serves as a powerful reminder of the danger of autocratic regimes. The history of the Holodomor reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect the cause of humanism and our collective respect for human life.
The joint statement was signed by Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union.
Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, thanked all participating countries that joined Ukraine's initiated joint statement demanding "justice for Moscow's past and present crimes."
It's worth noting that the annual meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council took place in Skopje from November 30th to December 1st. The aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine was at the center of attention in the speeches of the heads of foreign ministries of OSCE countries.