Moscow Endorses Genocide by Voting No on UN Resolution

The 193 delegations to the United Nations on May 18 participated in a discussion about Item 135 – A/75/L.82 – Responsibility to Protect and for the Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes against Humanity.

Given the state of affairs around the world today and yesteryear, this certainly is a vital topic that requires never-ending discussion, monitoring, endorsement and compliance. And in the event of noncompliance and transgressions – repentance, penance, punishment, retribution and reconciliation.

The universal significance and morality of this resolution was enunciated by Oleksiy Ilnytskyi, counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, who said in his presentation: “We fully agree with the report provisions that prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is ‘an ongoing process that requires sustained efforts to build the resilience of societies by promoting respect for the rule of law and human rights without discrimination; establishing legitimate and accountable national institutions; eliminating corruption; managing diversity constructively; and supporting a strong and diverse civil society and a pluralist media.’”

Who can dispute such high moral principles?

The member-states overwhelmingly voted in favor of this resolution but 15 UN member-states said, “No.” Heading the list of countries that voted against the adoption of this resolution was Russia and its vassal Belarus.

Genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity read like a laundry list of crimes and transgressions committed by Moscow for hundreds of years against its population as well as foreign nations. Just consider the Holodomor – Moscow’s murder by starvation of 7 million Ukrainian men, women and children in 1932-33. Or the murder of 200,000 innocent Ukrainians at the start of World War II and their burial in a mass grave in Bykivnia. And the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and the war that has lasted since then. And this is only a partial list of possible transgressions raised in Item 135 – A/75/L.82.

An obvious explanation why Moscow did not vote in favor of this resolution is that a lawbreaker does not voluntarily admit to committing any crime. Why leave the door perpetually open to international scrutiny of questionable activity? Even if you know you committed the crime in question and everyone knows you did it, it’s best not to admit anything and deny your guilt.

By refusing to support this humanitarian-based resolution, was Moscow overcome with as much guilt and remorse for its heinous crimes as perpetrators of matricide feel about their evil actions – the Norman Bates of “Psycho” syndrome?

Ironically, with this vote, Moscow surely attracted the attention and ignominy of the international community by shamelessly saying that it opposes preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

For an answer, we’ll have to wait for Russia’s admission.

On the other hand, Ukraine’s Oleksiy Ilnytskyi told his fellow delegates that Ukraine was proud to be major sponsor of this resolution and “is a party to the core instruments of international law relating to prevention of atrocity crimes, protection of populations, upholding human rights and elimination of all forms of discrimination.”

Sadly, he continued, not all countries support this message as is demonstrated by Russia’s current and past illegal actions.

Building up to detailing Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, Ilnytskyi pointed out that “Ukraine has already expressed on many occasions its strong belief that R2P (the shorthand nomenclature for the resolution) concept fully excludes any possibility of covert usage of military force by one state against another state under pretext of population protection leading to occupation of the territory.”

Devious countries still exploit the R2P for strategic and security purposes even after being denounced by numerous United Nations resolutions, he said. Russia was singled out several times for condemnation by the UN for invading and then temporarily occupying the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea which showed Moscow’s “total intolerance to manipulations of R2P principles.” Russian occupation authorities continue to block access to Crimea for international human rights groups to assess the situation on the ground and make respective recommendations for early warning, Ilnytskyi charged. In the meanwhile, Moscow has transported troops and equipment and installed nuclear weapons on the Crimean peninsula.

“That country also neglects the life and safety of people of Ukraine in certain temporary occupied areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and conducts actions in contradiction of spirit and letter of R2P, that have to be immediately ceased,” the Ukrainian diplomat said. “At the same time, the ongoing occupation of parts of its territory limits Ukraine’s ability to implement Pillar I of R2P. In Crimea, the Russian occupation regime continues to deny access for international human rights observers, including the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.”

Ilnytskyi warned that inaction as well as impunity will result in a perpetuation of these singularly monstrous crimes that result in pain and suffering, and threaten regional and global security and peace.

“I would like to underline that the impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, unwillingness to investigate and prosecute those responsible for these crimes including massive, serious or systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law will lead to their recurrence and undermine our multilateral efforts with regards to R2P,” he said.

For criminal states like Russia, the existence of global tolerance and blindness for their transgressions is a carte blanche for continuing crimes against humanity without regard for the blood that they’ve already spilled.

After Resounding Support for Ukraine, President Biden Caves

I first felt the stinging venom from my wife. So you had decided to vote for Joe Biden because Donald Trump didn’t give you a strong enough impression that he’d support Ukraine, did you?

Mea culpa.

Her caustic condemnation of President Biden on many counts complemented the chorus of conservative pundits around the country that are castigating the commander in chief for screwing up a wide range of policies and programs in just slightly over 100 days.

Our kitchen debate that resounded around the world specifically pertains to President Biden’s shocking decision yesterday to waive sanctions against an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who heads the company that is building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany – Moscow’s veiled imperialistic gambit, according to a handful of media sources.

Did the President suffer from a sudden bout of weak knees or cold feet? Or was he out rightly lying all along and then in the penultimate moment sold Ukraine – America’s proclaimed strategic partner and best ally in defending of the free world – down the river?

President Biden, since his inauguration, gave Ukraine, Ukrainian Americans and surely the former captive nations a welcome sense of understanding and support for Ukraine and indignant opposition to the occupants of the Kremlin – in marked contrast to President Trump’s policies.

The White House’s move is likely to draw criticism from lawmakers and a host of others who have argued that several pipe-laying vessels and entities, including Nord Stream-2 AG and its CEO, could be subject to sanctions under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019, known as PEESA. The recently adopted Ukraine Security Partnership Act as amended states it “Requires the President to report to Congress within 15 days whether Nord Stream-2 AG, the company building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and 19 other entities are eligible for sanctions under the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act.”

Furthermore, Congressional Ukraine Caucus, in a statement reaffirming support for Ukraine in face of increased Russian aggression, noted: “We were proud to spearhead Congressional efforts to increase Ukraine’s defense security assistance from $250 to $275 million for FY21, as well as to place mandatory sanctions on Nord Stream-2 through legislation. We agree with the Administration that the Kremlin should face serious consequences if it escalates its aggression against Ukraine. We must continue to raise the cost on Russia’s ongoing aggression through increased sanctions and putting an end to Nord Stream-2. Defenders of liberty from around the entire world stand with our Ukrainian allies.”

Republican lawmakers, with the help of their colleagues from the other side of the aisle, had pushed the Biden Administration to use financial punishments to stop the pipeline.

“If the Putin regime is allowed to finish this pipeline, it will be because the Biden Administration chose to let it happen,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said via a statement from his office. “I want to be clear: this pipeline is not a simple commercial project that could frustrate our relationship with Berlin. It is a Russian malign influence project that threatens to deepen Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow, render Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian aggression and provide billions of dollars to Putin’s coffers.”

The Oval Office will also catch the ire of Ukrainian American voters. It will be hard pressed to defend or explain its new position, which is detrimental to Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty. The German-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline is “a Russian geopolitical project intended to divide Europe and weaken European energy security”, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned on the eve of his triumphant visit to Kyiv.

With the pipeline so close to completion there was an expectation that the US would feel the issue was a lost cause, but Blinken insisted in a statement that firms involved in the project should immediately abandon work or face sanctions. He said the Biden Administration was intent on complying with existing bipartisan Congress legislation that calls for sanctions against those working on the project. He said the US was tracking those entities believed to be involved in the project.

The Baltic Sea pipeline that bypasses Ukraine – so depriving the country of significant revenues – is 90% complete and could even be operational by June.

Ironically, Blinken’s warning came the day after President Biden surprisingly acknowledged on national television that Putin was a killer, a description that pleased adversaries of the Kremlin and prompted Moscow to withdraw his ambassador to Washington.

Secretary of State Blinken’s trip to Ukraine was undeniably an effort to show Ukrainians, Russia and the world that “we stand with them, including against any aggression from Russia,” as Blinken put it in a recent interview with MSNBC. Few in Washington objected to this language, which echoes other Biden administration statements and actions as well as the popular idea the United States should protect Ukraine from Russia. Expectations ran high that Washington would not stand down from supporting Kyiv in any way possible against Moscow.

Furthermore, Blinken had promised to oppose it during his confirmation hearing: “I am determined to do whatever we can to prevent that completion (of Nord Stream 2).”

During Blinken’s visit to Ukraine, in a press huddle, a senior State Department official confirmed that Nord Stream 2 was a topic of discussion in Kyiv.

“It was mentioned, their position on Nord Stream 2 – Ukraine’s – and their concerns about that, and the Secretary reflected the concerns that we have about it too, and what we’ve continued to make clear to the Germans, of course the Russians as well, that we think it’s a bad idea, a damaging project, but there’s also U.S. law involved in terms of reacting to that.”

Despite this hopeful build up, Washington flip-flopped.

“The Biden Administration has been clear that the Nord Stream-2 pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project that threatens European energy security and that of Ukraine and eastern flank NATO Allies and partners,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying yesterday. “We continue to examine entities involved in potentially sanctionable activity and have made it clear that companies risk sanctions if they are involved in Nord Stream 2.”

Waiving sanctions against this Russian project is also opposed by the former captive nations of Russian subjugation that see its inherent danger.

During a major meeting of Eastern European leaders in Warsaw at the start of this month, the Polish foreign ministry said Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba discussed the “threats to peace in Europe resulting from the escalation of tensions along the northern and eastern border of Ukraine and in occupied Crimea, and from the construction of Nord Stream 2.”

In conversations with Kuleba, Rau noted that both officials agreed that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline threatens Europe.

“We see clearly that this project allows synchronization of pressure—political, economic, and military. This pipeline, if completed, will create a state of clear and present danger to peace in Europe,” Rau said.

Nord Stream 2 plainly isn’t a singular issue of importance to Ukraine. Its construction has serious security and geopolitical ramifications for the region, which should not be demeaned by Washington.

Is President Biden kowtowing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel? Or is he atoning before Putin for his pro-Ukraine position? Answers are not yet forthcoming. But if truth be told, this is not how you build a strong, proactive American foreign policy that has to defend global peace and security for some four years. Putin undoubtedly is smirking at Biden’s weakness.

The President should not allow Russia to use Western business interests, if that’s a reason, to undermine policy principles. The debacle over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is a classic example of how a “business first” approach to international relations conflicts with political objectives and weakens solidarity among strategic partners on this side of a re-emerging iron curtain.

This scandalous about face seen round the world certainly calls into question President Biden’s leadership of the free world and leaves egg on his face.

And payback will be costly.