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

Dear Colleagues and Friends:
As we open this year’s commemoration, I would like to ask you to stand with me as we observe a minute of silence in honour of the victims of the Holocaust.

Thank you.

Ambassador Manor
Ambassador Borodavkin
Ambassador Fasel
Monsieur Borlant
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you all for being with us. In opening this commemoration, it is my privilege to share with you the message of the Secretary-General on this important occasion, and I quote:
“Seventy years ago today, allied forces liberated Auschwitz Birkenau, the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp.

More than a million inmates, primarily Jews, were brutally and systematically killed in the place where the Nazis introduced the monstrous concept of “industrialized murder”. Among the other victims were non-Jewish Poles, political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, disabled persons and Jehovah’s witnesses.

Unprecedented in human history, this mass killing was motivated by the perverse, race-based ideology of the Nazis, who sought to track down and kill every last Jew and any others they considered to be inferior.

Humankind united to overcome the Nazi menace. Today, we are being tested again. Minorities everywhere often face bigotry. Sectarian tensions and other forms of intolerance are on the rise. Anti-Semitic attacks continue, with Jews being killed solely because they are Jews. Vulnerable communities around the world continue to bury their dead while living in fear of further violence.
The mission of the United Nations was shaped by the tragedy of the Second World War and the Holocaust. We are committed to protect the vulnerable, promote fundamental human rights and uphold the freedom, dignity and worth of every person.

For the past decade, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has mobilized students and educators around the world to help us achieve these goals. We are grateful to our many partners – including Holocaust survivors -- who have contributed to this work, which spanned 42 countries in the past year alone.

The violence and bias we see every day are stark reminders of the distance still to travel in upholding human rights, preventing genocide and defending our common humanity. We must redouble our efforts to eradicate the deep roots of hatred and intolerance. People everywhere must unite to stop the cycles of discord and build a world of inclusion and mutual respect.”

That was the end of the Secretary-General’s message.
Every year, on this very symbolic day, we remember the victims of the Holocaust. Women, men, children - all targeted simply because of who they were. We mourn them, and vow to honour their memory. We do so with acts that are not symbolic, but practical, everyday actions to protect the dignity of our fellow human beings - our neighbours, our communities, our countries and our global human family.

Perhaps more than any other single act during the war, the liberation of Auschwitz symbolizes the shared determination to confront barbarism, to protect fellow human beings, regardless of their background, and to reject bigotry, hatred and chauvinism - in all its forms and whenever it may take place. The universal values of our Charter are the bedrock of this commitment: respect for diversity, equality, justice, solidarity and dignity.

Le thème de notre commémoration cette année est « Liberté, vie et héritage des survivants de l’holocauste ». Nous avons le grand privilège d'accueillir parmi nous Monsieur Henri Borlant, qui a accepté de témoigner ici ce soir. Les faits qu’il va nous relater nous montreront comment le nazisme a cherché au travers d’une entreprise systématique d’humiliation et de traitements dégradants à priver les victimes de leur humanité même. Mais il vous dira aussi que l’esprit humain, le courage et la ténacité peuvent vaincre la barbarie. Faisons en sorte que son témoignage et celui de tous les survivants de l’holocauste soient entendus aussi longtemps et loin que possible, et continuent de guider nos actions individuelles et collectives.

The Holocaust showed us, in the most horrific and chilling way possible, how the most extraordinary inhumanity can be conceived and perpetrated by ordinary individuals. We saw how indifference can become the accomplice of this inhumanity.

Our collective lesson is that we must always stand united in fighting indifference. In our world of today, marked by a rise in extremist sentiment and action, growing intolerance of all that is seen as different, in a world of conflict and instability where the social fabric of our global human family is undermined by mistrust, prejudice and stereotyping across communities, we need to heed this lesson.

We fight indifference through education that teaches tolerance, understanding, compassion and global citizenship and rejects ideologies of hate. We fight it through a free, inclusive and lively global debate. We fight it through an active and engaged civil society. We fight it through democratic institutions and good governance. We fight it by always insisting on respect for the rules that we have all agreed on to build our global community. We fight it by always rejecting the notion that might is right.

Pour finir, permettez-moi de remercier les Missions permanentes d’Israël, de la Fédération de Russie et de la Suisse pour leur collaboration dans l’organisation de cet événement important. Je remercie de tout cœur également l’orchestre de chambre de l’Orchestre de Suisse Romande, qui a su traduire, grâce au langage commun qu’est la musique, notre détermination collective.

Mais surtout, j’aimerais remercier chacun d’entre vous d’être présent ici aujourd’hui et de montrer ainsi votre engagement personnel. Une action commune n’est possible que si elle est construite sur des convictions personnelles fortes.

Je vous en remercie.