OREANDA-NEWS President urged the UN member states to recognize Holodomor as an act of genocide against Ukrainians
During his speech at the 72 session of the UN General Assembly, President Petro Poroshenko urged the UN member-states to recognize Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-33 as an act of genocide.

“The United Nations has always played a leading role in ensuring that the crimes of the past could never happen again. The 72nd session of the General Assembly coincides with the 85th Anniversary of one of the deadliest crimes of the 20th century – the crime of Holodomor,” the President said.

“It was a man-made famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 organized by the Stalin totalitarian regime that killed 7 to 10 million Ukrainians,” the President emphasized and recalled the verdict of Dr. Raphael Lemkin, the author of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, who called the destruction of the Ukrainian nation “a classic example of genocide”.

“I appeal to all UN member states to make their own historic judgement and to make decision by recognizing Holodomor as an act of genocide,” the President addressed the General Assembly.

“This is a challenging time for all of us. Evermore people die in wars and natural disasters. Truth is blindsided by the post-truth. The world is divided again – between those who believe that freedom is indispensable and those who believe freedom is expendable. One group wants to reach a better future. The other one drags us into the past. It’s time for those who believe in freedom to come together. It’s time for freedom to be strong, convincing and convinced,” the President concluded.