Ukraine’s Envoy to UN: Russian Church Spreads Neo-Nazi Narratives

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, appealed to the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a proposal to deprive the World Russian People's Council of its special consultative status for spreading xenophobic, neo-Nazi, and neocolonial narratives. That’s according to Kyslytsya’s comment to Ukrinform.

"Ukraine expresses deep concern that the World Russian People's Council, which promotes racist, xenophobic, neo-Nazi, and neocolonial narratives, continues to use ECOSOC's special consultative status," the permanent representative said in a letter to the President of the UN Economic and Social Council.

According to the diplomat, not only does this give the neocolonial body the opportunity to exploit the authority of a UN body as a cover for supporting Russian aggression in the media space and whitewashing war crimes, it also undermines trust in ECOSOC and the United Nations as a whole.

The envoy says the actions of the "Russian Council" may violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other international conventions.

The diplomat recalled that, in accordance with the ECOSOC resolution, for it to establish consultative relations with non-governmental organizations, their goals and tasks must correspond to the spirit, goals and principles of the UN Charter.

The consultative status of a non-profit operating under ECOSOC shall be suspended or revoked if the organization, directly or through its affiliates or representatives, clearly abuses this status, in particular for unfounded or politically motivated actions against UN member states.

Kyslytsya suggests that the leaders of ECOSOC assess the activities of the "Russian Council" and take appropriate measures, as well as eye the possibility of launching the procedure for revoking its special consultative status.

The so-called World Russian People's Council was created under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1993. Currently, it is headed by the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Gundyaev ("Patriarch Kirill").

This week, the "Russian Council" passed the decree entitled “The Present and Future of the Russian World", which declares neo-Nazi and xenophobic goals. In particular, the decree states that "the special military operation is a new stage of the national liberation struggle of the Russian people against the criminal Kyiv regime and the collective West," which is referred to as a "holy war."

"After the conclusion of the SMO, the entire territory of modern-day Ukraine shall enter the zone of Russia’s exclusive influence," the decree reads.

In addition, the document contains anti-scientific theses about the "millennial history of Russian statehood" and "the triunity of the Russian people."

As reported, the Institute for the Study of War think tank concluded that the Russian Orthodox Church had formed a broader nationalist ideology around the war in Ukraine and Russia's expansionist plans.