Debate contributions by Dainius ŽALIMAS

Mr President, dear colleagues, as we discuss today the occupation of Crimea, I want to draw your attention to one specific aspect of the aggression against Ukraine. This is the involvement of the Russian judiciary in the crime of aggression, which is the gravest possible discrediting of justice. The judges of Russia's so-called Constitutional Court authorised the annexation of five Ukrainian territories. The first ruling was namely on Crimea in 2014, and encouraged further aggression and human rights violations. The Chairman of Russia's so-called Constitutional Court, Valery Zorkin, openly justified this decision by the alleged threat of neo-Nazism in Ukraine and Islamic radicalism of the Crimean Tatar people. The so-called Constitutional Court was followed by the entire judiciary machine in Russia, in persecution and massive repression of the Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainian people. Accountability of the so-called Russian judges has to be also among our guiding principles. First and foremost, the judges of the so-called Constitutional Court must be put in the dock for the crime of aggression, together with the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation.

Madam President, dear colleagues, Russia's war of aggression is not only brutal attacks against civilians. It has ideological background, often called the 'Russian world' concept. It rather deserves to be named 'Russo‑fascism' or 'Russo‑Nazism'. This ideology can be traced back to Russia's glorification of the Soviet crimes of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. I recall that the occupation of the Baltic states is justified by Russia with the same arguments as the Nazis attempted to use at the Nuremberg trials for the seizure of Austria or Czechoslovakia. Just as Hitler, Putin proclaims the aim to take all the so-called Russian‑speaking lands, while at the same time denying the right to existence of entire nations. Russo‑fascism is built on disinformation and falsification of history, where aggression, extermination of people, torture and rape are called liberation. The war of aggression against Ukraine is the best demonstration of this manipulation. We must respond to the appeal of the Ukrainian parliament by condemning Russo‑fascism as totalitarian and misanthropic ideology. Like Nazism in Nuremberg, it must also be proclaimed illegal.

Madame President, dear colleagues, the European Union is a promise to uphold democracy and human rights. However, as regards LGBTIQ persons, we are still falling short of this promise. We failed to create a common European area of human rights, where dignity and family life of each person is equally recognised and protected. In some EU countries, including my own country, Lithuania, same‑sex couples are denied of legal recognition of their family life. Children growing up in those families are subject to humiliation, laws prohibiting information about the LGBTIQ community are being adopted and even LGBTIQ 'free zones' are being declared. Such discriminatory ideas perfectly resonates to one of the pillars of Russian world ideology, under which the LGBTIQ community has been declared to be the first enemy after Ukrainians. Therefore, the EU must decisively act by first launching timely infringement procedures against any violation of fundamental rights. Second, ensuring full enforcement of court judgements protecting LGBTIQ persons in all Member States. Third, restricting EU funding to those Member States who gravely break the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Madam President, I have just returned from Ukraine. I have a strong impression from the front lines that, despite of our statements of solidarity, Ukrainians increasingly doubt the reliability of Western and European commitments. Ukraine still struggles to secure even the basic weapons and ammunition it urgently needs. Meanwhile, Russia seems to be successful in implementing its strategy of war of exhaustion. With North Korean troops directly entering the aggressive war on the Russian side, we are now witnessing the emergence of new axis powers in the 21st century: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Iran and China. These tyrannical regimes view Ukraine as merely the first step in their broader goal to destabilise Western democratic world and dismantle the rules-based international order. We must act actively. We must also have our strategy in countering the axis powers. This means no more self-imposed red lines, boosting our own defence capabilities and enforcing harsher sanctions on Russia and other axis powers. Let us ensure that our support is worthy of the Ukrainians' courage.

Mr President, dear colleagues, today we confront an uncomfortable truth. Gender-based violence against women poisons Europe's fight for democracy and human rights. Nowhere is this more evident than in the brutal Russian war against Ukraine, where violence, including sexual violence, is being used systematically as a weapon of war. The crimes of aggression and gender-based violence are not isolated. They are deeply rooted in the destructive ideology of the Russian world, which, inter alia, promotes discrimination against women. Regretfully, even in the EU, similarities to and traces of this ideology exist, undermining women's rights. We have powerful instruments to combat this, such as the Istanbul Convention. Yet, it is shameful that this treaty is still not binding on all EU countries, including my own country, Lithuania. Political resistance fuelled by disinformation cannot justify our failure to act. We must ensure that every EU Member State commits to the Istanbul Convention, building a united Europe where women are safe, equal and free.

Mr President, dear colleagues, while discussing the current situation in Georgia, we must follow two key principles. Firstly, massive election fraud, bribery and intimidation of voters, well documented by local and international observers, are grave breaches of such universally recognised democratic principles as fair and free elections. Consequently, the will of the Georgian people is presumed to be distorted and electoral results cannot be held legitimate. Secondly, pluralistic democracy inevitably implies the existence of both position and opposition in a democratically elected Parliament. Meanwhile, following the protest of the democratic forces, the new Georgian Parliament seems to be a one-party organ. Therefore, this Parliament cannot be recognised as the legitimate representative of the Georgian people. Our response must be strong. First, to demand an independent international investigation and call for accountability of those responsible for the election fraud. Second, to support Georgian civil society and democratic political forces in their fight for new free and fair parliamentary elections in Georgia. This is our opportunity to uphold our shared European values and stand with the free Georgian people.

Mr President, dear colleagues, Georgia now is at the front line. We all are witnessing the attack against European values by the current Georgian Government imposing Russo-fascist narratives. This is evident from the Foreign Agent Law, anti-LGBT legislation, the abolishment of gender quotas in elections and the so-called 'family values package'. Not a single recommendation of the Venice Commission has been taken into account. Moreover, those legislative measures were taken without consultation with civil society, and they completely ignore the national constitution, including the aim to become a fully fledged member of the European Union. However Russo-fascism in Georgia can be defeated. We must play here a decisive role by, first, insisting on fair parliamentary elections without the use of administrative resources and pressure on the opposition by the ruling party. Second, we must request accountability, including personal sanctions on those responsible for Georgia's democratic backsliding. Third, we must provide support to all the democratic, pro-European political forces, including promising parties such as For Georgia. Together, we must bring Georgia back to a path of democracy and the rule of law. It's time to do all we can to remove Georgia from the claws of Russia.

Madam President, dear colleagues, there is a famous legal maxim: 'Justice delayed is justice denied'. I could not find better words to describe the main challenge for Europe in relation to our topic. We are aware of numerous facts of repression against Belarusian civil society. We know the names of perpetrators and who is their master. Many of them are the so-called judges and prosecutors. We know that those repressions legally are qualified as crimes against humanity. What is our response to the ongoing repressions? So far, almost nothing in fighting impunity. What else is there to feel when you read routine calls to apply universal jurisdiction and you know perfectly well that there is only one investigation going on on this basis in Lithuania. However, no suspects have been named yet and no arrest warrants issued. Now it is the time to act and make justice effective, not delayed, to urge other Member States to invoke universal jurisdiction to refer the situation in Belarus, to the extent possible, to the ICC, as well as to consider the establishment of a special tribunal – by the way, again, only Lithuania is going to make referral to the ICC. Both the crimes in Ukraine and the crimes in Belarus have a common denominator, that is, an attack against core principles of decency and humanism, with a delay in delivering justice. We as democracies can lose again against the autocratic regimes. In other words, our viability and even survival might be at stake.