Dutch House of Representatives Recognises Holodomor as Genocide of Ukrainian People

, 7 July 2023, 09:42

The Dutch House of Representatives, the lower house of the country's parliament, has recognised the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.

[The Holodomor is a famine of 1932-1933 artificially created by Stalin's repressive regime in the heyday of collectivisation, that is, the forced seizure of private property and the organisation of collective farms. As a result of those events, according to various estimates, from four to six million Ukrainians died due to the lack of food, mainly in rural areas – ed.]

Announcement on Friday morning (7 July) by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as reported by European Pravda

The head of state welcomed this decision on his Twitter feed.

"Calling a spade a spade is a key prerequisite for justice and preventing the recurrence of such terrible crimes," the president posted.

Zelenskyy thanked the Netherlands separately for the strong and comprehensive support of Ukraine in its struggle for its own future and the future of the entire free world.

Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called the decision "an important step" in establishing the historical truth.

"I am grateful to the Netherlands for taking a firm position on the need for accountability for past and present atrocities," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Previously, the Holodomor has been recognised as genocide of the Ukrainian people by the parliaments of 27 countries in the world, including in Europe. In March, this step was taken by the Belgian House of Representatives, the Lower House of the Belgian Parliament, and Iceland's Parliament. With the Netherlands, that figure has risen to 28.

By now, parliaments of almost thirty countries have recognised the Holodomor of the Ukrainian people as an act of genocide. The European Parliament has also joined the recognition campaign.