IHRA
SPECIAL SUMMIT
Laura Roberstson, IHRA
The ministerial meeting, at the Residence Palace Press Centre in Brussels, saw IHRA Member Countries adopt the IHRA 2020 Ministerial Declaration, formed of 14 measures that underpin the ultimate objective of IHRA: to ensure the world remembers the Holocaust and work to contribute to a world without genocide.
In times when Jews are being attacked and murdered in the streets and in their places of worship, when Holocaust distortion, antisemitism, antigypsyism and other forms of discrimination are on the rise globally, the Declaration is a new set of measures and principles that each IHRA Member Country agreed to support, including fresh commitments to:
- Accept responsibility to counter Holocaust denial and distortion, antisemitism, and all forms of racism and discrimination that undermine fundamental democratic principles
- Lead efforts to promote education, remembrance and research on the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma to counter the influence of historical distortion, hate speech and incitement to violence and hatred
- Identify, safeguard and make available archival material, testimonies and authentic sites for education purposes, commemoration and research
Adoption of the IHRA 2020 Ministerial Declaration is timely, as January 2020 marks 20 years since the Stockholm Declaration, the founding document of IHRA. This Declaration centred on remembering the victims who perished during the Holocaust, respecting the survivors still alive, and reaffirming humanity’s common aspiration for mutual understanding and justice. It outlined that the Holocaust fundamentally challenged the foundations of civilization and pledged to remember the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma and educate future generations of these tragic events.
The IHRA 2020 Ministerial Declaration marks the beginning of a historic year, which also sees the 75th anniversaries of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and other concentration and extermination camps, as well as the end of the Second World War in Europe (8 May 1945) and in Asia (2 September 1945).
On 19 January 2020, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), together with the Government of Luxembourg, welcomed ministers and high-ranking government representatives from 35 countries to Brussels, for a unique summit to declare their commitment to fighting Holocaust distortion, antisemitism, antigypsyism and other forms of discrimination.
All images: IHRA