International Commission of Inquiry Into the 1932–33 Famine in Ukraine

The International Commission of Inquiry Into the 1932–33 Famine in Ukrainewas set up in 1984 and was initiated by the World Congress of Free Ukrainians to study and investigate the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine. Members of Commission selected and invited by World Congress of Free Ukrainians . None of them represent own country or country authority/institution and act as individual. Most of them (5 out of 7) are retired jurists, one of them (Colonel G.I.A.D. Draper) died before Commission finish their investigations . The Commission was funded by donations from the worldwide Ukrainian diaspora .

The idea for the formation of an International Commission to investigate 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine was suggested by Toronto lawyer V.-Yu. Danyliv at the 4th Conference of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians held in December 1983. According to the resolution the commission was to be initiated in New York in December 1984 and headed by Ignat Bilinsky. Danyliv consulted with justice John Sopinka, lawyers Pavlo Chumak, Stepan Rozsokha and the Canadian Minister for Justice. The Commission had its first meeting in May 1988 in Brussels and was chaired by Professor emeritus Jacob Sundberg. His findings were delivered to the UN Under-Secretary for Human Rights in Geneva on May 9, and to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on May 10, 1990.

Documentary evidence exhibits entered into Commission

Documentary evidence exhibits entered into Commission presented predominantly by World Congress of Free Ukrainians, including “Harvest of Sorrow” by Robert Conquest and many other documents by same author, James Mace as also books Ukrainian Diaspora like “Ukrainian Holocaust of 1933” by Wasyl Hryshko, “Black Deeds of Kremlin” 2 Vol by Dobrus and Pidhaynyy, V.Kubiyovych work etc. In fact these studies are often the work of specialists of Ukrainian (Diaspora) origin or were funded by sponsors in the Ukrainian diaspora .

Conclusions

World Congress of Free Ukrainians as petitioner invited a Commission to find what the famine was an act of genocide. This invitation resulted in Commission splitting into a number of separate opinions. The Commission majority (5 out of 6) deems it plausible that the constituent elements of genocide were in existence at the time of the famine.

The International Commission concluded that the Famine in Ukraine took place from August-September 1932 to July 1933. The Commission stated that a minimum of 4.5 million victims (while assumed Ukrainians as sole nation and inhabitants of the Ukrainian SSR ) perished with an additional 3 million outside of the Ukrainian SSR. The responsibility of the Famine was placed on the Central government of the USSR.

Commission majority does not believe that the 1932-33 famine was systematically organized to crush the Ukrainian nation once and for all.

Commission is unable to affirm the existence of preconceived plan to organize a famine in Ukraine, in order to ensure the success of Moscow’s policy.

In addition to Russophobes sentences like “Soldiers usually Russian or at least not Ukrainians”, “those sent to Ukraine were Russians or at least non-Ukrainians” etc.

Final report consist a lot of controversy facts and figures:

The grain supplies imposed on Ukraine in July 1932 constitute the immediate case of famine which broke out two months later. In same time Commission noted what ”only 3.7 tons were collected by authorities as compared with 7.7 million tons in 1930 and 7.0 million tons in 1931.”

“Very little or nothing was done to provide some relief to starving masses.” and “by end of April Ukraine received 34.3 million poods of grain”.

The final report was also published in Russian: The International Commission of Inquiry famine in Ukraine years 1932-1933 Final Report in 1990, Kiev - 1992 (Международная комиссия по расследованию голода на Украине 1932—1933 годов Итоговый отчёт 1990 г., Киев −1992).

References