Switzerland to Chair the IHRA in 2017

On 5 November IHRA's 31 member countries accepted Switzerland's candidacy for the chairmanship of the IHRA in 2017.

At a plenary meeting in Debrecen, Hungary, the representatives of the 31 member countries of the IHRA accepted Switzerland's candidacy to chair the organisatio. Switzerland, which has been an IHRA member since 2004, will take over the chairmanship from Romania. The head of the Swiss delegation, Ambassador Benno Bättig, secretary-general of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), will take on the position of IHRA Chair in 2017.

Following an FDFA proposal approved by the Federal Council on 14 October 2015, Switzerland will organise two IHRA plenary meetings in 2017, the first in Geneva and the second in Bern.  Furthermore, from February 14-17 2016, the University of Teacher Education Lucerne will host an international IHRA research conference on education about the Holocaust. For more information and to register for the conference, please click here.

When Switzerland joined the IHRA, the FDFA set up an advisory group composed of key federal, cantonal and non-governmental actors that will be involved in shaping and promoting Switzerland's future chairmanship.

For more information, see the full press release here.