Recognition of Holodomor 1932–1933 as a Genocide of the ukrainian People by the Parliament of Great Britain: Debates 2013–2023
Authors: BARAN Zoya 
Published: November 2024

The international recognition of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 is evidence of the establishment of historical justice in assessing the crime against humanity committed against the Ukrainian people. For the first time, the famine in Ukraine was discussed in the British Parliament in 1934: a report based on information received from Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna Theodor Innitzer and journalists William Henry Chamberlin and Malcolm Muggeridge was delivered in the House of Lords by the liberal politician Lord Charnwood. However, a number of MPs opposed the discussion of the famine in the USSR, stressing that it was an internal affair of another state, and the debate was closed. In the early 2000s, after the recognition of the Holodomor as genocide by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (2006) and the intensification of the Ukrainian authorities’ efforts to raise awareness of the crimes of the Soviet regime among the world community, this issue was discussed three times (2013, 2017, 2023) in the House of Commons. P. Latham, a representative of the ruling Conservative Party, was the initiator of the debate. She presented indisputable historical facts and oral memories in her speeches, that allowed to assess the Holodomor as a deliberate act of genocide by the Soviet government, which became a deep trauma for Ukraine and had a catastrophic impact on the Ukrainian national identity. The politician also argued her thesis with the statement of the author of the concept of “genocide” R. Lemkin, who called the destruction of the Ukrainian nation a classic example of genocide, stressing that the purpose of the Holodomor was to overcome Ukrainian national resistance to the Soviet regime. In general, all the speakers emphasised the artificiality of the famine, the scale of the tragedy (from 2 to 12 million deaths), which was planned by the Stalinist totalitarian regime to achieve its main goal – the destruction of the Ukrainian nation. The MPs recognised the need to honour the memory of the millions people who were brutally murdered; condemned the Soviet regime’s confiscation of food, restrictions on the movement of the population, refusal of foreign aid, brutal suppression of protests, and Russification policy; called on the UK government to further raise awareness of the Holodomor and condemned any attempts to deny or distort this historical truth, considering it nothing less than genocide.They noted the heroism of the contemporaries of the events, in particular the British journalists Gareth Jones and M. Muggeridge, and ordinary citizens who were not afraid to speak out about the real state of affairs. In this context, the parliamentarians drew historical parallels with the present: reporters from many countries, including Ukraine itself, are endangering themselves to expose the true extent of Russian barbarism and war crimes during Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, in which Putin aims to destroy the Ukrainian nation and the concept of Ukrainian identity. The MPs argued that the recognition of the Holodomor as genocide is not a formal definition: it is a recognition of the truth of historical events and has implications for the current war, as it sends a clear signal that the international community will not turn a blind eye to acts of cruelty and injustice. In early 2023, President of Ukraine V. Zelenskyy and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine R. Stefanchuk addressed the UK Parliament, focusing on the current situation in Ukraine. However, the head of the Ukrainian parliament stressed the importance of restoring historical justice in the issue of recognising the Holodomor of 1932–1933 in Ukraine as a crime of genocide against the Ukrainian people, especially because of the unchanging policy of Russia, which commits mass war crimes and crimes against humanity. The House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution recognising the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people on 25 May 2023. The position of official London has remained unchanged: Holodomor was a horrific, man-made disaster of unimaginable scale and the government recognise the human tragedy that occurred and its importance in the history of Ukraine and Europe. Government policy is that recognition of genocides should be a matter for judicial decision and so it should be for judges, rather than Governments or non- judicial bodies, to make a designation of genocide. Such decisions should be based on a credible judicial process, and the courts are best placed to judge what are essentially criminal matters. At the same time, the government emphasises that this position in no way diminishes the gravity of the crime and the responsibility of the Soviet leadership for the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. It also assures that it will continue to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and international efforts to bring Russia to justice for its aggression against Ukraine. Key words: Holodomor, genocide, Great Britain, P. Latham, Ukraine.