Statement by Permanent Representatives of a several countries to the OSCE on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of victory in the Second World War

This year marks the 78th anniversary of the victory in World War II.

Preserving the historical memory of the most tragic page in the history of the twentieth century and the terrible events of those years is our common duty. The heroic feat of millions of people who gave their lives to fight against the ideology of racial superiority and misanthropy symbolizes the victory of Good over Evil and cannot be consigned to oblivion. We strongly condemn the destruction and desecration of monuments to liberators, memorials to heroes and commanders, as well as burial places of soldiers and officers, regardless of their location and national or ethnic origin. We mourn the victims of National Socialism.

Attempts to revise or distort the results of World War II, as well as to rehabilitate and glorify the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by them are unacceptable. In accordance with the verdicts of the Nuremberg Tribunal, which legally consolidated the achievement of the victory over Nazism, the crimes committed by Nazis have no statute of limitations.

We welcome the UN General Assembly resolution adopted on December 15, 2022 on combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices which contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We view the broad support for this important thematic paper as a confirmation of the international community's determination to prevent the tragic mistakes of the past from being repeated and to build a unifying future.

We urge all participating States to honour the memory of those who fought against fascism and Nazism during World War II and to respect the feat of peoples. Defeated Nazism must not raise its head again.

Permanent Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the OSCE

4 May 2023, Vienna