Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12316 | 23 June 2010

Soviet political repressions as a crime against humanity

Signatories: Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Azerbaijan, ALDE ; Lord Donald ANDERSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Lokman AYVA, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Ms Marieluise BECK, Germany, ALDE ; Ms Marie-Louise BEMELMANS-VIDEC, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Alma ČOLO, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EPP/CD ; Mr Paata DAVITAIA, Georgia, EDG ; Ms Lydie ERR, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Joseph FENECH ADAMI, Malta, EPP/CD ; Mr György FRUNDA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Holger HAIBACH, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Gultakin HAJIBAYLI, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Johannes HÜBNER, Austria, NR ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Franz Eduard KÜHNEL, Austria, EPP/CD ; Ms Sophie LAVAGNA, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Mr Aleksei LOTMAN, Estonia, UEL ; Mr Felix MÜRI, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands ; Mr Yüksel ÖZDEN, Turkey, EDG ; Mr Janusz RACHOŃ, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Fiorenzo STOLFI, San Marino, SOC ; Mr Christoph STRÄSSER, Germany, SOC ; Ms Özlem TÜRKÖNE, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Mustafa ÜNAL, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Klaas de VRIES, Netherlands, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

During the 74-year Soviet regime, all the people under the rule of that empire, including Russians, were subjected to bloody and systematic repression. The repressions of 1920, 1933-38 and 1948-49 resulted in more losses of life than those of the USSR during World War II and resulted in the death of over 30 million persons. Due to the killing, over a lengthy period, of numerous prominent scientists, military personnel, statesmen and cultural personalities, the genetic bank of dozens of nations was seriously damaged.

Notwithstanding, all victims of the Soviet political repressions regime were afterwards formally vindicated, yet the truth about the fate of the majority of them remains unavailable to the public.

Not all the archives of Soviet political repression have been fully revealed up to today, the problem was not investigated in depth and did not get political assessment at international level.

Taking the aforementioned into consideration and referring to the provisions of Resolution 1096 (1996) on “Measures to dismantle the heritage of former communist totalitarian systems” and Resolution 1481 (2006) on the “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes”, the Parliamentary Assembly finds it expedient to appoint a special rapporteur for the overall investigation of this issue.