Almost 50 countries vote against UN anti-Nazism resolution

The US, Ukraine and former Axis powers once again voted against Moscow-proposed text

The UN General Assembly has adopted a Russian-drafted resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism in a 118-49 vote, with 14 member states abstaining on Tuesday. The resolution calls on UN members to take appropriate action to counter historical revisionism and the denial of crimes against humanity committed during World War II.

Moscow proposes the resolution every year for nearly two decades, urging the UN to combat the “glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”

In a vote on Tuesday, dozens of UN member states expressed opposition to the proposal, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as Ukraine, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and a handful of others. The final vote on Tuesday afternoon was 118 in favor, 49 opposed and 14 abstaining, according to media reports. The UN has yet to publish full details of the session.

“A group of Western countries has attempted to turn the Russian initiative into a political, country-specific document,” said Russia's deputy permanent representative, Maria Zabolotskaya. “If one finds its problems reflected in the resolution, then it is important to work with these problems, and not try to undermine cooperation in the field of countering neo-Nazism, racism and xenophobia.”

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Nevertheless, the results of the vote “speak for themselves,” Zabolotskaya added, expressing gratitude to the delegations that voted in support, including China, Brazil, Israel and scored of others.

Back in 2021, the resolution was opposed by just two states – the US and Ukraine – while 49 others abstained, mainly Washington’s allies. However, in 2022 instead of abstaining, the collective West, including former Axis powers of Germany, Italy, Austria and Japan, for the first time voted against the Russian-proposed text.