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Coordinator | Statements and Commentary

Comment by the General Coordinator of Global Citizens

On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy, the International Movement Global Citizens notes with deep regret that a number of leading states and international institutions did not issue a public response commensurate with the historical and moral significance of this tragic anniversary.

On September 29 and 30, 1941, Nazi occupying forces shot and killed 33,771 Jews—men, women, older people, and children—at Babi Yar. In the years that followed, Babi Yar became a site of the mass extermination and burial of tens of thousands of other victims of Nazi persecution. In this regard, we consider it necessary to underscore that the Babi Yar tragedy is an integral part of the history of the Holocaust and forms part of the shared historical memory of the international community.

Global Citizens draws particular attention to the fact that, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary, no separate official public statements were issued by the White House, the U.S. Secretary of State, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, or the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It should also be noted that no corresponding joint statement was issued by the member states of the Group of Seven (G7).

The Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv published commemorative messages. The European Union also issued a separate publication marking the 85th anniversary of the tragedy. Global Citizens takes note of these communications. At the same time, we consider it necessary to draw a clear institutional distinction between communications issued by government departments or diplomatic missions and a separate official statement by a country’s leadership, head of government, or head of its foreign ministry.

Representatives of the accredited diplomatic corps took part in the commemorative events in Kyiv. Global Citizens recognizes the significance of their participation as a tribute to the memory of those who perished. At the same time, we underscore the fundamental distinction between the presence of diplomatic representatives at a memorial ceremony and a separate public expression of a country’s official position. On commemorative occasions of this significance, a separate public statement by the head of state, the government, or the head of the foreign ministry carries distinct institutional standing and particular political and diplomatic significance.

On September 30, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation addressed the 85th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy during a scheduled briefing. It should be noted that these remarks were made solely during the scheduled briefing on September 30 and did not constitute a separate official statement dated September 29.

The United Nations, in its foundational resolutions and documents, consistently reaffirms the need to make every effort to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, resolutely counter its denial or distortion, and ensure that its lessons are consistently passed on to future generations. In this regard, Global Citizens notes with deep regret that no separate public statement by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres was published on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy.

Global Citizens firmly holds that preserving the historical memory of the Babi Yar tragedy cannot and must not depend on prevailing political circumstances, relations between states, or shifting priorities on the international agenda. The fundamental principle of “never again” requires consistent, unwavering, and universal respect for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Global Citizens notes that Babi Yar is an integral part of humanity’s shared historical memory. Global Citizens reiterates and underscores that preserving the truth about this tragedy, countering any attempts to revise history, and respecting the memory of its victims are a shared and unconditional responsibility of states, international organizations, civil society, and future generations.

Note: The International Movement Global Citizens will forward this Comment by the General Coordinator, together with the official document entitled “Global Citizens Statement on the 85th Anniversary of the Babi Yar Tragedy,” to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel through official diplomatic channels for its information. These materials will also be formally transmitted to the editorial offices of leading Israeli media outlets and television channels: Ynet, N12 / News 12, Israel Hayom, Globes, Calcalist, KAN, and Channel 14.

SOURCES

1. Figure of 33,771 and historical information: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kiev-and-babi-yar.

2. The White House: Briefings & Statements section — whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/; general News feed — whitehouse.gov/news/ and whitehouse.gov/news/page/2/. On September 29, seven items were published: three Executive Orders by the President of the United States — “Eliminating Disease-Carrying Pests And Restoring Enjoyment Of The Great Outdoors,” “Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence,” and “Streamlining Access to Government Services Through America.gov”; three corresponding Fact Sheets; and an announcement by the First Lady, “First Lady Melania Trump Announces 2026 Fall Garden Tours.” No separate presidential statement on Babi Yar was found in the official White House feed for September 29.

3. U.S. Department of State: publication by the Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues dated September 29 — x.com/StateSEHI/status/2104897127575081332; publication by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv — x.com/USEmbassyKyiv/status/2105020240124088484. These posts by a specialized office and an embassy do not constitute statements by the White House or the U.S. Secretary of State.

4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: Spokesperson’s remarks section — fmprc.gov.cn/fyrbt_673021/; briefing of September 29 — fmprc.gov.cn/.../t20260929_12033332.shtml. Babi Yar and Ukraine are not mentioned in the transcript.

5. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom: News and communications feed — gov.uk/search/news-and-communications.... On September 29, a statement by the UK representative to the United Nations Security Council on Haiti was published.

6. Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic: Déclarations officielles et interventions section — diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/presse/...; on September 29, an interview with Benjamin Haddad was published.

7. Federal Foreign Office of Germany: Newsroom section — auswaertiges-amt.de/de/newsroom/news; on September 29, a speech by Minister Johann Wadephul at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and a joint statement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia were published.

8. Group of Seven (G7): official section of the French Presidency — elysee.fr/G7evian; the most recent preceding publication was a statement dated September 25 on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and freedom of navigation.

9. European Union: publication dated September 29 specifically marking the 85th anniversary — euneighbourseast.eu/.../ukraine-eu-commemorates.... The material was published by EU NEIGHBOURS east, a regional communication program funded by the European Union that supports the communication activities of EU Delegations in the Eastern Partnership countries and operates under the guidance of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). It is not a separate official statement by the European Commission or EEAS and is not a G7 statement. Participation of the diplomatic corps in the ceremony is confirmed by a report dated September 30 — euneighbourseast.eu/.../eu-ambassador-to-ukraine-attends....

10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation: briefing by the spokesperson dated September 30, section “On the 85th Anniversary of the Babi Yar Tragedy” — mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/2151255/. The source does not confirm the existence of a separate statement dated September 29.

11. United Nations: General Assembly resolutions 60/7 and 76/250 on Holocaust remembrance and combating Holocaust denial — un.org/en/holocaustremembrance and un.org/en/outreach-programme-holocaust/.... Official feeds of the Secretary-General and his Spokesperson for September 29–30 — un.org/sg/en and un.org/sg/en/spokesperson. On September 29, an address by the Secretary-General on the total prohibition of nuclear weapons and reports on his meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of India and Sri Lanka were published.