Mr. Chairperson,

On 23 November 2019 Ukrainian people will commemorate millions of innocent victims who were killed in 1932-1933 by a manmade famine – Holodomor – which was enforced by the deliberate policies of the Soviet Stalinist totalitarian regime.

The dictator Joseph Stalin could not suppress fully the Ukrainian nation through the waves of the Great Terror and collectivization. Thus to resolve the “Ukrainian issue” it was decided to starve to death by the barbaric policies Ukrainian people, mostly the peasants – the backbone of Ukrainian identity, culture and traditions. According to the recent researches, at least 6 mln of them perished.

For decades this horrendous act of inhumanity and an enormous national tragedy have been kept a secret by the Soviet Union, categorically denied and largely unknown to the world.

Today we are grateful for the solidarity of other nations and also paying respect to the victims.

Mr. Chairperson,

Referring to the 1990 Copenhagen OSCE commitment to “clearly and unequivocally condemn totalitarianism”, we once again reiterate the importance of raising public awareness of the tragic events of our common past, of promoting tolerance and non-discrimination, of strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for the prevention of human tragedies in the future.

We condemn attempts to glorify Joseph Stalin in the Russian Federation and anywhere. We reaffirm our strongest condemnation of all forms of Nazism, Stalinism, neo-Nazism and other practices fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and related intolerance.

We continue to strongly support honoring all their victims, in particular the memory of those who perished from the Holocaust, as well as from artificially created genocide, one of the most horrific man-made tragedies in modern history – Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine.

In closing, I would like to underline once again the significance of remembrance and maintaining a firm stance in condemning totalitarianism, regardless of the colors it used, brown or red, and strongly upholding the values of democracy, human rights and freedoms.

I thank you.