27 January 2015

IHRA Chair's Statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2015:

Today we in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance come together, 31 member countries, 8 observer countries and 7 permanent international partners, to commemorate the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust. 2015 is a year of many important anniversaries, including the 20^th anniversary of the Bosnian genocide at Srebrenica.

In particular it is the year in which we mark the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and other Nazi concentration and extermination camps. It is a great honour and a great responsibility to chair this important international organisation through such a momentous anniversary.

2015 is also the year in which we mark the 15^th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust, the founding document of IHRA. I am delighted to have seen the reaffirmation statement which we agreed at our last plenary meeting in Manchester posted, shared, spoken and tweeted all over the world, including as far overseas as India and as close to home as London. Today I hope that our statement will continue be heard around the world. You can see where the statement has been used here.

Today I shall be attending the Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 UK Commemorative Event in Central London which will be televised by the BBC and broadcast this evening. I hope that wherever you are commemorating this anniversary, the victims and survivors of the Holocaust will remain at the heart of all your activities.