French Senate Recognizes ‘Holodomor’ as Genocide

The French Senate adopted a resolution to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide against the Ukrainian people , after a vote of 327 to 16 in favor, on Wednesday May 17.

Already on March 28 France’s National Assembly (the lower chamber of France’s legislature) had recognized the Holodomor.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked the senators for the “historic vote.”

The term Holodomor (death by hunger, in Ukrainian) refers to the forced starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33. The Holodomor was the assault against the Ukrainian population by the Communist Party and the Soviet state, instigated by Joseph Stalin, as the ultimate punishment for resisting Soviet policies.  

“I am grateful to French senators for this historic vote which restores justice and honors the memory of millions of victims. Such crimes should never repeat and never be forgotten,” Kuleba said on Twitter.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the French Senate’s decision “another important step toward the restoration of historical justice and perpetuating the memory of millions of Ukrainians who were starved to death.”

“I welcome the historic decision of the French Senate to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of Ukrainian people” he said on Twitter on Wednesday. “I’m grateful to all senators who initiated and supported the resolution.”

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To date 27 countries, including France, have recognized the Holodomor of 1932-33 as a genocide.