Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya at UNSC briefing on the Implementation of Resolution 2686 on Tolerance and International Peace and Security
Mr.President,
We followed with interest the informative briefing by Ms.Nderitu.
A year ago the Security Council adopted resolution 2686 (2023). We thank the UAE for this useful initiative that we fully support.
The resolution was the first to draw the attention of the Security Council to the importance of promoting the ideals of brotherhood based on tolerance, equality, peaceful coexistence, dialogue, pluralistic traditions, mutual respect and diversity of religions and beliefs. The sovereign equality of states and multipolarity underpin the ideals of brotherhood on a global scale.
The resolution prescribed to give serious attention to combating discrimination, intolerance and extremism that takes the form of hate speech or violence (including ethnicity- and religion-based). Practical measures should be taken to combat discrimination against persons belonging to religious communities, in particular cases caused by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and other forms of intolerance.
It is well known that the ideas of racial superiority gave rise to the policies of apartheid, colonial exploitation, fascism and Nazism. All these ideologies and practices stem from the same root. They have resulted in the worst crimes in human history, victimizing hundreds of millions of people across all continents. The United Nations was created to overcome that legacy.
However, ideas of racial superiority and exceptionalism live on assuming new forms. The modern world is awash in racist and xenophobic rhetoric, Nazism is reviving, and intolerance based on religion, ethnicity and language is becoming part of everyday life.
Moreover, some states do not suppress such manifestations adequately, while others simply make them part of their policy.
We see the Koran being publicly burned under the guise of freedom of expression in countries that proclaim themselves "beacons of democracy". We see neo-Nazis and Nazi collaborators marching in Europe, and monuments to the wars that defeated Nazism being desecrated. Those are serious challenges of our time, which cannot be looked upon with indifference.
It cannot be tolerated that since 2014, Ukraine has been pursuing a policy of eradicating everything Russian: a progressive ban on the use of the Russian language, which is the mother tongue of at least 40 percent of the country's population. The Russian language is being squeezed out of education, media, and public life, and monuments to Russian writers such as Alexander Pushkin are being demolished. The law "On Education" adopted in 2017 is part of the policy of discrimination in Ukraine. Another element of the same policy is the law "On Preschool Education" that was adopted yesterday. In November 2023, Ukraine adopted the Law "On National Minorities" aimed at protecting their rights, which explicitly states that it will not apply to the Russian language.
It cannot be tolerated that, in Ukraine, persons defending the rights of the Russian-speaking population or simply advocating dialogue and peace with Russia get killed in broad daylight, as was the case with journalist Oles Buzina in 2015. Or they disappear, as happened with Ukrainian human rights advocate Olena Berezhnaya. She was arrested on March 16, 2022 and taken to the Internal Affairs Department of the Goloseevsky district of Kiev. From that point on, her fate has remained unknown. If alive, she is most likely in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine. We have asked the UN Secretary-General to help and we again call on him to assist in clarifying the fate of Yelena Berezhnaya.
Mr.President,
Resolution 2868 recognizes the importance of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and its valuable contribution to social cohesion and peace, and rightly views interreligious and intercultural dialogue as an important tool in efforts to establish peace.
Within the walls of the Security Council, we have repeatedly drawn attention to the tragedy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which is unfolding before our eyes in Ukraine today. Today, at this moment, Ukraine is taking consistent measures (across all fields, from legislation and law enforcement to media) to eradicate canonical Orthodox Christianity, which is the most numerous confession on the territory of the country.
A large-scale disinformation campaign is being carried out against the clergy in order to discredit its priests in the eyes of the flock, and an image of "accomplices of the enemy" is being created. The information space is swarming with false accusations and hate speech about the priests through the efforts of the Security Service of Ukraine and so-called "journalists". Thus, Kiev warrants radicals of all stripes to unleash violence and lawlessness in order to clean up the country's religious field. We must admit that this policy is effective. Priests are beaten and arrested, video evidence of which is abundant on social media.
Since 2019, there have been seizures of UOC churches and forced illegal liquidation of their congregations under the guise of alleged "voluntary conversions" to other denominations. A blatant example of this practice is the expulsion of the monks from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine’s oldest monastery, a symbol of canonical Orthodoxy.
Orthodox churches in Ukraine are being destroyed. The most recent case occurred just a month ago, on May 17, in Kiev. The Vladimir-Olginsky Chapel of the Desyatin Monastery, erected by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the site of the first stone church in ancient Rus. It was simply pulled down.
In this regard, I would like to recall that resolution 2686 strongly condemns all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief and similar acts directed against their places of worship, as well as any attacks against religious places, sites and shrines and their territories in violation of the law, including the Charter of the United Nations.
Mr.President,
In conclusion, we should like to note that resolution 2686 is also intended to give impetus to the development of national strategies to combat intolerance and extremism, which serve as a breeding ground for terrorism.
The decisive role in combating radicalization of the population and extremism in all its manifestations, as well as its ideology, belongs to states and their competent authorities, but religious communities, academia, educational institutions, the media and representatives of the private sector should be involved in their efforts.
We call on the specialized mechanisms of the United Nations to work closely to implement this important task. At the same time, we should be mindful that when fulfilling any international initiatives in the area of countering extremism and terrorism, we must take into account the traditional, historical, cultural, social and religious context. The fact must not be disregarded that certain political forces may use radical groups and ideas, including as a tool to influence the governments of other states in order to destabilize them.
Thank you.
