International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Ambassador Manor
Ambassador Zappia
Dr. Mario Silva [Chair, International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance]
Ms. Pollak-Kinsky
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today, on our annual observance of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, we remember and we pay tribute. We remember the innocent women, men and children who perished in the Holocaust. We pay tribute to those who survived the horror and to those who stood up to fight against it. We are honoured to have Ms. Helga Pollak-Kinsky here with us to share her experience and reflections. Her words, so touching as a child, are just as moving today.

As we come together, we recognize that the unthinkable did happen.
And despite our best efforts, it can happen again - in different forms, in different countries and with different victims. We must ensure that it does not. As the Secretary-General has said, we must be ever vigilant.

Part of this vigilance is our responsibility – governments, individuals and the international community alike – to fight against intolerance and the manipulation of religious or ethnic differences. And to create and support laws and institutions that protect people and defend human rights. Also important is to guard against the distortion of facts, as ignoring the history of those terrible events, increases the risk they will be repeated.

Another important part of this vigilance is education. Events like this share the important and inescapable lessons of the Holocaust. It is through education that we fight against bigotry, hatred, ethnic and religious divisions. And that we pass the torch of memory to the younger generations.

To further these goals, we will be signing tomorrow, a cooperation agreement with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, to digitize portions of the League of Nations Archives related to this period. Through this agreement, UNOG will contribute in its own way to preserving history and sharing the lessons of the Holocaust with future generations.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Commemoration centres around journeys. The painful journey that each individual had to make, but also our collective journey as the international community. This journey never ends, as we continue our work to protect human rights, fight against intolerance and promote a shared vision of equality and peace. So that the horrors of the Holocaust will never be experienced again.

I would now like to ask you to join me in a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Thank you very much.