By Carla Stea
Iran, Israel,
Syria United, For Almost A Decade, in Support of United Nations
Anti-Nazi Resolution; United States, For Almost a Decade, Opposed To
This Resolution
On
November 15, 2013, the United Nations Third Committee adopted
Resolution A/c.3/68/L.65/Rev.1, on the Elimination of Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
The Resolution is entitled:
COMBATING
GLORIFICATION OF NAZISM AND OTHER PRACTICES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO FUELLING
CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND
RELATED INTOLERANCE.’
This resolution is
unique within the United Nations because it has united Iran, Israel and
Syria, together with 123 other member States, in support of this
resolution, repeatedly, year after year for almost a decade, while this
same resolution, combating the resurgence of Nazism, has been
consistently opposed by the United States, almost in isolation, during
the same years.
The resolution states:
“Recalling the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the Judgement of the Tribunal, which recognized as criminal, inter alia, the SS organization and all its integral parts, including the Waffen SS, through its officially accepted members implicated in, or with knowledge of the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity connected with the Second World War, as well as other relevant provisions of the Charter and the Judgement.”
“Alarmed, in this regard, at the spread in many parts of the world of various extremist political parties, movements and groups, including neo-nazis and skinhead groups as well as similar extremist ideological movements”
“Reaffirms the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and of the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference, in which States condemned the persistence and resurgence of neo-nazism, neo-fascism and violent nationalist ideologies based on racial and national prejudice and stated that those phenomena could never be justified in any instance or in any circumstances,”
“4. Expresses deep concern about the glorification in any form of the nazi movement, neo-nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organization, including by erecting monuments and memorials and holding public demonstrations in the name of the glorification of the nazi past, the nazi movement and neo-nazism, as well as by declaring or attempting to declare such members and those who fought against the anti-Hitler coalition and collaborated with the nazi movement participants in national liberation movements.”
“5. Emphasizes the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur that ‘any commemorative celebration of the nazi Waffen SS organization and its crimes against humanity, whether official or non-official, should be prohibited by States.”
“6. Expresses concern at recurring attempts to desecrate or demolish monuments erected in remembrance of those who fought against Nazism during the Second World War, as well as to unlawfully exhume or remove the remains of such persons, and in this regard urges States to fully comply with their relevant obligations, inter alia, under article 34 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.”
“10. Stresses that the practices described above do injustice to the memory of the countless victims of crimes against humanity committed in the Second World War, in particular those committed by the SS organization and by those who fought against the anti-Hitler coalition and collaborated with the nazi movement, and that failure by States to effectively address such practices is incompatible with the obligations of States Members of the United Nations, under its Charter and is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the organization.”