NGO’s at the UN are required to submit quadrennial reports of their activity for review by a nineteen member committee composed of member governments. Scrutiny is often perfunctory as more than three thousand NGO’s are affiliated with the UN with various degrees of activity. This is a brief summary of a rather bizarre occurrence within the UN.
In May 2007 the Ukrainian World Congress submitted its quadrennial report for 2003-2006. To date this report has not been approved. One member state, the
Russian Federation, single handedly has been responsible for the delay.
That the United Nations could be fertile ground for similar abuse by Russia is cause for concern.
Russian opprobrium against the Ukrainian World Congress was initially manifested during the first review session in January 2008. Since then several review sessions have been held with the latest in June 2010. In four instances the Russian delegation has interposed questions to the UWC which can only be described as brazenly political, often provocative, certainly leading and arguably abusive.
The following represents a citation of the bulk of these questions:
“1) What is the position of your organization on the joint statement about the “Holodomor” made during the 58th (sic)of the United Nations General Assembly?
2) What are the sources of the numbers of the deaths from the “Great Famine” in your statement?”
“Clarification with governmental and official structure in Ukraine.”
“Please clarify which (sic) is the position of your organization in regard to the glorification of Nazi war criminals.”
“1. There is substantial difference in your website from the English language version to the Ukrainian version. In this connection, and in particular, please explain this idealization of Nazi or war criminals as they are indicated in your website.
2. Please explain your organization’s position towards idealism and nationalism.
3. Please explain your organization’s relationship towards the individual who was extradited to Germany from Russia (sic) as this individual was involved in World War II. From this website we note that your organization requested the European Union and other legal bodies to release Ivan Demjanjuk.”
During the aforementioned 58th General Assembly, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN had circulated and read into the UN record a statement on the “Holodomor.” The UWC had circulated additionally its own statement which referred to 7-10 million Ukrainian deaths during the “Holodomor.”
The UWC answered the Russians with a footnoted five page analysis of the numbers relying on several sources, i.e. Robert Conquest’s book “Harvest of Sorrow”, the Final Congressional Report of the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine, the findings of an International Commission of eminent international jurists convened by the Ukrainian World Congress which rendered its final report in 1990 and two censuses taken in the USSR along ethnic lines pre and post the famine of 1932-33 which support the aforesaid number.
Regarding the other points requesting clarification the UWC stated that it is opposed to the glorification of Nazi war criminals, Communist criminals and any other criminals for that matter; that neither the English nor the Ukrainian versions of its website idealizes Nazi or war criminals and that the UWC considers this accusation against it totally unfounded and requests an immediate retraction of same; that the UWC values idealism, certainly, prefers it to materialism and respects the nationalism of all nations, provided it is not extreme, such as chauvinism, i.e. Russian nationalism which historically has bordered on chauvinism and imperialism.
As to Ivan Demjanjuk the UWC pointed out that its transmission to the European Union was predicated on the German government’s incongruous legal reasoning in instituting the proceedings. The UWC’s position was supported “inter alia” by two earlier decisions of the Supreme Court of Israel where the charges alleged currently in the German indictment had been addressed and dismissed by the Israeli courts.
The UWC’s quadrennial report and, in particular, its last response will be scrutinized by the review Committee consisting of Russia and eighteen UN member states with no agenda against Ukrainians in January 2011. Perhaps, it should be noted that the leading Ukrainian NGO in Russia, the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of Ukrainians in Russia is currently under suspension precisely for observing the “Holodomor.” Russian abuse of other NGO’s in Russia is a serious problem, currently being addressed by several leading international human rights organizations.
That the United Nations could be fertile ground for similar abuse by Russia is cause for concern.
Askold S. Lozynskyj is immediate past president of the Ukrainian World Congress and its current main representative at the United Nations.
