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Statement by Grigory Lukiyantsev, Director of the Department for Multilateral Human Rights Cooperation and Foreign Ministry Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, during the vote on amendment (A/C.3/80/L.56) to the draft resolution of the Third Committee of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly "Combatting the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" (A/C.3/80/L.2), New York, November 14, 2025

17 November 2025 19:31
1929-17-11-2025

Mr Chairman,

The delegation of the Russian Federation does not support the proposed amendment to draft resolution L.2 and calls on the delegations to vote against it. It represents an attempt to politicise the issues addressed in the draft resolution, rather than a genuine effort to identify solutions to existing problems. Moreover, this proposal is not a meaningful amendment in terms of UN methods and practices, but rather an outright procedural trick and provocation.

We are dealing with a thematic resolution that contains no references to any countries or groups of states, which is of fundamental importance. It is aimed at dialogue and cooperation. The issues it identifies are transboundary in nature and concern situations in many countries around the world. This is why the Russian draft resolution is a logical complement to another traditional Third Committee document on combatting racism which is considered at the initiative of the Group of 77 and China.

Colleagues,

In their attempt to thwart the adoption of the Russian draft resolution, the individuals who drafted the amendment have outdone themselves. Even if the proposed amendment is approved, the entire text of the resolution will still be unacceptable to them. They will still vote against the resolution in its entirety. The co-sponsors of the amendment and those behind them are hoping that this will somehow compel us to vote against our own resolution. I hate breaking it to them, but their plans are doomed. Incidentally, this is exactly how almost all the relevant states subsequently vote on the comprehensive draft resolution put together by Group of 77 and China on combatting racism. After that, will they still tell us how they condemn racism and racial discrimination, Nazism, and neo-Nazism? Or, do they consider cynicism and hypocrisy to be the best tools in fighting racism and racial discrimination? If so, muster some courage and say it to our faces.

The authors of the amendment tried to resort to a procedural trick after they had lost hope to achieve their goal of including in the text a justification for the spread of racist, xenophobic, and neo-Nazi ideas as an "exercise of the right to freedom of expression." They also failed to remove references to the final documents of the World Conference against Racism in Durban from the text. Nor were they able to revise the Nuremberg Tribunal resolutions.

We call on members of the Committee not to fall for this provocation and to vote against the proposed amendment, which, to reiterate, is not a genuine amendment to begin with. If you support the draft resolution as a whole, you must now vote "against." Take a principled position. Abstaining or failing to participate in the vote will only play into the hands of those who seek to politicise the noble cause of combatting racism and racial discrimination.