UNGA81 Fourth Committee agenda item “Eradicating colonialism in all its forms and manifestations”
Statement delivered by H.E. Mr Krzysztof Szczerski, Permanent Representative of Poland on behalf of Estonia, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine
New York, 01 October 2026
Mr. Chair,
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you and other members of the Bureau on your election.
I will be speaking on behalf of the group of countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine and Poland.
We reaffirm our strong support for the UN decolonization agenda, the principles of independence, self-determination and sovereign equality of all states, and the need to address the broader legacies of colonialism.
At the same time we would like to take this opportunity and reiterate the statement delivered last year in this forum by a group of like-minded states, which firmly opposed Russian attempts at creating and promoting its own misleading narrative of being a champion of decolonization.
Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine is a direct contradiction to what the UN and its member states aim to achieve through real decolonization efforts. Since the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion in 2022 Ukraine’s sovereign territories have been under Russian temporary occupation, Ukrainian citizens are being brutally targeted, tortured and killed and its civilian and critical infrastructure is being deliberately destroyed.
According to 2025 OHCHR report [on the impact of armed conflict and occupation on children’s rights in Ukraine], children are being subjected to indoctrination and militarisation as part of systematic efforts to erase their national identity, while their deportation and forcible transfer may amount to crimes against humanity as concluded by UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
These tactics are very familiar to many countries and nations that suffered under Soviet domination and occupation. For decades Russia has followed a neo-colonial foreign policy to undermine and violate sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighboring states. Russia’s actions against ethnic minorities within Russia are the same: racial and religious oppression, erasing of identities and discrimination. The traditions of Russian colonialism go back a long way in history.
Russia’s neo-imperial mindset is increasingly translating into the exploitation of people beyond Europe. We condemn the continuous practice of economic exploitation, efforts to exert control over local decision makers and of the use of disinformation, including illicit recruitment practices into its Armed forces to fight in Ukraine. We call upon Russia to bring an immediate and unconditional end to all forms and manifestations of its colonial revival.
Mr. Chair,
We reject Russia’s attempts to dominate, intimidate or establish a sphere of influence over its neighbors or elsewhere. Colonialism belongs to the dustbin of history.
We reiterate our determination to continue to support all credible steps to achieve full decolonization and address the legacy of the colonial era, in line with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
I thank you.