11 November 2013
MEDIA RELEASE
UWC President meets the President of the UN General Assembly
On 6 November 2013 Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij discussed several issues with the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), John Ashe, including the recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people, honoring the renowned Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko and Russia’s pressure on Ukraine. Joining the UWC President in the meeting, which took place at UN headquarters in New York, USA, were the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev, and the President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Tamara Gallo Olexy.
Eugene Czolij focused on UWC’s current priorities and invited the President of the UN General Assembly to join the international community in paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor during commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of this genocide against the Ukrainian people that are scheduled on 23 November 2013 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and the consecration on 4 December 2013 of the land on which the memorial to the victims of the Holodomor will be erected in Washington.
In conjunction with the celebration in 2014 of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, the UWC President highlighted the global significance of the poet’s body of work and called for a declaration by the UN General Assembly honoring this renowned defender ofhuman rights, social justice and the right of self-determination of all nations.
The UWC President also touched upon the undue pressure exerted by Russia to disrupt Ukraine’s Euro‑integration and asked that the UN monitor this situation.
On 7 November 2013 Eugene Czolij discussed with the Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN, Ambassador Ryszard Sarkowicz, the importance of the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement during the Third Summit of the Eastern Partnership on 28-29 November 2013 in Vilnius, which is in the best interestes of both Europe and Ukraine.
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS
145 Evans Ave., Suite 207
Toronto, ON
M8Z 5X8 Canada
website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
