The following text was elaborated by the ambassadors Karl Dhaene (Belgium), Kirsty Hayes (United Kingdom), Amador Sánchez Rico (European Union), Nicola Lindartz (Finland), Romain Nadal (France), Dieter Lamlé (Germany), Halvor Saethre (Norway), Mauritz Verheijden (Netherlands), Jarmila Povejsilo (Czech) and the business manager AI Bogna Ruminowicz (Poland) on the occasion of being met today the 80th Anniversary of the end of world war II in Europe.
80 years ago, on May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the allies, What marked the end of World War II in Europe. Three months later, with the surrender of imperial Japan, the most devastating conflict in the history of humanity concluded. Today we tribute the heroism and disinterest of the allied soldiers and the resistance combatants who gave their lives in the fight against the German Nazi regime directed by Adolf Hitler. We honor the memory of millions of civil victims of war, including 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
From this unprecedented tragedy the collective determination arose to prevent such horrors from repeating again. This vision led to the Foundation of the United Nations, an international organization created to maintain peace and security, defend international law and promote human rights and development. Established just a few weeks after the end of the war, the United Nations embodied the hope of a world united against aggression and injustice, a vision whose relevance we reaffirm today. Also, from the ashes of World War II the conception of European integration was born, promoted by visionary leaders such as Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi, Konrad Adenauer and Winston Churchill. This idea resulted in the creation of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and, later, the European Union, international entities that contributed to the promotion of peace, democracy, prosperity and fundamental rights in Europe.
However, while honoring the past, we cannot ignore the tragic reality of the present. A new war on European soil is being fought: Illegal, unjustified and in flagrant violation of international law. Since the beginning of the War of large -scale aggression of Russia, on February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been defending its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. These fundamental rights are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, a document signed by the allied countries on June 26, 1945 to “preserve generations to come from the scourge of war.” But Moscow ignored them and, with false pretexts, began its illegitimate, colonial and not caused Ukraine invasion. The Russian army has carried out indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civil infrastructure, Executions, torture and ill -treatment, forced disappearances, as well as sexual and gender violence.
-We also remember that the end of World War II did not bring peace and freedom to all of Europe. The totalitarian Soviet Union signed in the first instance the Molotov-librantrop pact with Nazi Germany, which resulted in the dismemberment of the territory of Poland in 1939 and the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940. After the German invasion in 1941, the Soviet Union joined the allies and played a crucial role in the loss fascism However, when World War II ended, Half of the continent was brutally subjugated to Moscow. Until 1989, Eastern Europe nations lived behind the iron curtain, devoid of basic human rights and democracy. Only after the fall of the Berlin wall the citizens of these countries were free to determine their own political future and chose to become members of the free world. Later, the Ukrainians made the same decision, that the Russian Federation continues to accept.
Among the difficult lessons that we, Europeans, we learned from the tragedy of World War II, are told that it is always necessary to protect the most fundamental norms of international law, which in the long term freedom prevails over tyranny, democracy expires to authoritarianism and sovereign nations are released from the yoke of foreign oppression. That is why we will continue our political, military and financial assistance to Ukraine and support efforts to achieve a world, fair and lasting peace that respects sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine. We will also insist that those responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine must account.
We have the debt and historical obligation with the heroes fallen in World War II. We will keep our unwavering support to Ukraine and your people, that are safeguarding the same values defended by allied soldiers. We honor those who gave their lives and we will continue to do so in defense of freedom.
