The Swiss Parliament recognized the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people

The Parliament of Switzerland recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people. This decision was supported by 123 MPs, 58 voted contra, and another 7 abstained.

This is reported on the website of the countryʼs parliament.

The document recognized the act of genocide and noted that responsibility for it lies with the Soviet regime of Joseph Stalinʼs time.

"The Federal Assembly recognizes systematic acts that lead to starvation on a large scale and in a deliberate manner and are carried out with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such, in whole or in part, as acts of genocide," the supported statement said.

The head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk has already reacted to Switzerlandʼs decision. He thanked the Swiss parliament and noted that this solidarity honors the memory of the victims and strengthens ties between the peoples of Ukraine and Switzerland.

What is the Holodomor?

The Holodomor of 1932-1933 was a mass famine that led to millions of human casualties in the countryside of the Ukrainian SSR. Then 7 million people died of hunger. In Ukraine and the world, the Holodomor is perceived as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people, inspired by the government of the USSR. 92% of surveyed Ukrainians consider the Holodomor of 1932-1933 to be a genocide of the Ukrainian people. Only 4% disagree with this, and another 4% hesitate to answer. Holodomor Memorial Day falls on the fourth Saturday of November.

• In 2006, Ukraine recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people. In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to democratic states to do the same.
• Before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a number of states had already recognized the Holodomor as a genocide of Ukrainians, including Australia, Georgia, Ecuador, Estonia, Canada, Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the USA, Hungary, Portugal, and the Vatican.
• In 2022-2023, the process of recognizing the Holodomor as genocide intensified — it was recognized by the Czech Republic, Belgium, Moldova, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Iceland, France, Slovenia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Croatia, Italy, Wales, 34 US states, as well as the European Parliament and PACE