International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear Friends:


It is my pleasure to welcome you all here today for the first observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/7 of 1 November 2005. I appreciate having with me here His Excellency Ambassador Itzhak Levanon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, and Mr. Tom Luke, a survivor of the Holocaust and a former staff member of the United Nations, to share with us their thoughts on this occasion. I look forward to hearing their statements together with all of you.

Today’s commemoration takes place under the theme of “Remembrance and Beyond”. The horrific crimes of the Holocaust will forever stand as a stark and unequivocal warning to all people of the dangers of bigotry, prejudice and racism. It was this that the General Assembly reaffirmed in its historic resolution to designate 27 January – the day of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Russian army – as the annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust – millions of women, men and children persecuted, tortured and killed in the Nazi death camps, innocent Jews and members of other minorities brutally and barbarically murdered because of their ethnic or racial origin, their religious faith or their political beliefs, because of hatred, prejudice and Anti-Semitism.

In remembering the shameful and repulsive crimes of the Holocaust we do not aim to perpetuate this hatred. In drawing lessons from the past, we are laying the foundations for a future beyond the hatred. These lessons resonate globally and are relevant across generations.

In remembering the horrors of the Holocaust, we strengthen our common resolve to ensure that they do not reoccur. In recalling the terrifying ordeals of the victims, we must strive to ensure that the insidious roots of such hatred are detected early on and extinguished. We must be especially mindful of conditions and circumstances where sentiments of bigotry, prejudice and racism may fester and eventually thrive. We must also be able to address genocide and crimes against humanity whenever and wherever they may take place. Remembering is not a choice; it is an obligation and a necessity. Using our collective recollection to act is the most appropriate way to honour the memory of those affected by the brutality of the Holocaust.

Recalling the horrendous acts of the Holocaust is also our common response to those who try to deny the historical reality of the atrocities. Any attempt to deny the Holocaust – in part or in full – must be firmly rejected because if we deny the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Behind the shocking statistics of the extermination camps lie millions of individual human stories. In a few moments, we will hear one of those remarkable stories from a survivor of the calamity of the Holocaust. And just as we must always keep in mind the unbearable suffering and agony of the individual women, men and children of the Holocaust, we must never lose sight of the fact that it is up to us as individuals – as members of the human family – to avert another descent into the abyss of inhumanity that the Holocaust represents.

As we will hear in a most poignant way in just a few minutes, one person can make a difference, and what may seem to be a simple gesture can dramatically alter the course of a human being’s life. We are all responsible for being vigilant, for speaking up and, most importantly, for acting when confronted with abuse of rights, with cruelty and with injustice. In staying indifferent or detached, we aid the forces of inhumanity.

The United Nations itself was established in the aftermath of the atrocities of the Holocaust. It was created with the determination – as is stated in the Preamble to the Charter – to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.

The important lessons of the Holocaust are that we must always uphold our shared values of freedom, democracy, equality and justice. We must cultivate mutual understanding and respect – across borders and within communities – to overcome ignorance and intolerance, exclusion and divisions. In defending the dignity of each individual and in defeating discrimination when we encounter it, we not only honour the commitment of the founding fathers of this Organization. It is the only way to pay fitting tribute to the victims of the Nazi death camps.

Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Following the opening statements here, we will transmit live the Secretary-General’s message and the ceremony taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York. This video link will be established not only as a practical measure to enable those of us in Geneva to follow the ceremony as it happens. It is also a manifestation of the universal and unified nature of this commemoration. Sentiments concerning the need to recall – and the importance of building on this remembrance to address violations of individuals’ rights today and in the future – are shared across the world.

Together, we remember – and together, we go beyond the memory by strengthening our efforts to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen ever again.

Thank you very much.