The CSTO PA’s legislative framework on combating neo-Nazism is in demand in the CIS region

Sergei Pospelov, CSTO PA Executive Secretary, spoke at the international conference Denazification: History and Modernity held at the CIS Security Research Institute. 

“Just recently, the nations of the world have celebrated the 75th anniversary of the victory in Second World War,” Sergei Pospelov reminded, “The image of the Victory continues to be a reliable symbol of unity among representatives of different nationalities. For us, the holiday is associated with the memory of the decisive contribution of the peoples of the Soviet Union.”

The CSTO PA Executive Secretary noted that on May 7, 2020, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly sent an Appeal to the parliaments of the member states of the Council of Europe on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in the Second World War. The document calls to step up efforts to legally prohibit the revival of Nazism and jointly oppose the revival of Nazism and its manifestations, using, among others, the experience of the CSTO model lawmaking.

At the same time, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly suggested using a number of model legislative acts developed by the CSTO PA in joint lawmaking work: Recommendations on the Approximation of Legislation of the CSTO Member States in the Field of Countering Terrorism and Extremism and Recommendations on the Improvement of Legislative Support of Countering Crime on the Grounds of National, Racial and Religious Intolerance in the CSTO Member States (2015).

Sergei Pospelov noted that these documents define the goals and principles of denazification; detail priority areas for improving the legislation of CSTO Member States on combating crime on the grounds of national, racial and religious intolerance.

Recommendations on Improving the National Legislation of the CSTO Member States in the Area of Countering the Dissemination of Nazism and Its Manifestations (2019) contain legislative approaches to the definition of Nazism and its manifestations based on the analysis of the national legislation of CSTO states. It is emphasized that the improvement of the legislation of the CSTO states on countering Nazism and its manifestations should be primarily aimed at suppressing the formal expression and possible spread of Nazism; proposals for improving the corpus delicti in this area are formulated.

“It is obvious that it is the collective West, which encourages the revival of Nazism and neo-Nazism at the state level in some Eastern European countries, is directly responsible for the threat of a new war in Europe that it created,” stressed the CSTO PA Executive Secretary.

Sergei Pospelov noted that the 2021–2025 CSTO PA Action Plan on Approximation and Harmonization of National Legislation of the CSTO Member States envisages the work on model documents directly corresponding to the matters of countering the Nazism revival, such as Recommendations on Developing the Common Approaches to Countering the Attempts to Revise and Distort the Historical Events and Results of the Great Patriotic War and Second World War and on Methods of Teaching Their History and Recommendations on the Harmonization of the CSTO States’ Legislation in the Area of Military-Patriotic Education and Upbringing with a draft model law On Military Patriotic Youth Organizations; Recommendations on the Criminalization of Actions Related to Attempts to Rehabilitate Nazism, Distort Historical Truth, Humiliate Honour and Dignity of Military Veterans, Equate the USSR’s Role to Germany’s in the Second World War and Belittle the Humanitarian Mission of the USSR in the Liberation of Europe, as well as the Recommendations on the Harmonization of the CSTO Member States’ Criminal Legislation Penalizing Crimes Against Peace and Security of Humanity.