Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 27th Jan. UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday commemorated victims of the Holocaust at the ceremony held at the UN General Assembly and said that hate is growing at an alarming speed, and the world must strongly denounce forces of division, especially in the aftermath of the horrific 7 October terror attacks in southern Israel, in his remarks delivered at the event in New York.
Guterres said “All of us leaders and citizens have a responsibility to listen and to learn from survivors and victims by condemning these terrible crimes against humanity, striving to eradicate antisemitism and all forms of bigotry, hatred and intolerance and by finding a way forward to a shared, safe and inclusive future for all”.
“This is particularly important in today’s dangerous and divided world, and a few short months after Hamas’ horrific terror attacks, in which so many innocent Israeli civilians and citizens of other countries were killed,” he said.
International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, observed on 27 January, the ceremony focused on the theme of recognizing the extraordinary courage of victims and survivors.
He stressed that the world must resolve to “stand up against the forces of hate and division”.
Guterres said that the antisemitic hate that fuelled the Holocaust did not start with the Nazis nor did it end with their defeat, but was preceded by thousands of years of discrimination, expulsion, exile and extermination.
“Today, we are witnessing hate spreading at alarming speed,” the UN chief said. “Online, it has moved from the margins to the mainstream.”
He urged all to speak out to combat hate.
“Let us never be silent in the face of discrimination, and never tolerant of intolerance,” he said.
He added “Let us speak out for human rights and the dignity of all. Let us never lose sight of each other’s humanity, and never let down our guard.”
UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech sets out strategic guidance at national and global levels in addition to its Outreach Programme on the Holocaust.
“To all who confront prejudice and persecution, let us clearly say: you are not alone,” Mr. Guterres said. “The United Nations stands with you.”
“Today, of all days, we must remember that demonization of the other and disdain for diversity is a danger to everyone that no society is immune to intolerance and worse and that bigotry against one group is bigotry against all.”
President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis said, in a pre-recorded video message, that promoting remembrance and education regarding the Holocaust is essential to ensuring that the crime of genocide is never seen as either normal or justifiable in any circumstance and to work towards ensuring it is never repeated.
“Today, those who tragically perished and the survivors are the powerful force behind all we do at the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to promote and defend human rights and to work relentlessly for a more just and peaceful world,” he said.
He said that the stories of victims and survivors are the reminders of “our duty to counter hatred and intolerance” amid a surge in hate speech across the world, with rising antisemitism and xenophobia.
“We cannot and must not be complacent,” he said.
“Today and every day, we must recommit to say more than just ‘never again’. We must live our lives daily by this mantra. The Holocaust must forever be a warning to all of us to stay vigilant against widespread hatred, racism, prejudice and intolerance.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said the attack on Israel on 7 October by Hamas was “an attempted genocide”.
“We, the Jewish people, understand the meaning of genocide more than any other people,” he said.
“We have been persecuted for millennia. Hitler seared the meaning of genocide into our DNA.”
He reiterated that but, on 7 October, Hamas “tore open that wound”, he said, patting a yellow star, a badge the Nazi regime forced Jewish people to wear, affixed to his lapel.
“On International Holocaust Remembrance Day I stand here, in the name of the State of Israel, in the name of all those murdered by the Nazis and Hamas, and I swear, we will not forget. Never again is now.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, said in a statement commemorated the international day that the world is duty-bound to examine why the Holocaust happened to ensure it is never repeated.
He stressed that the scale of the crimes committed engaged many perpetrators.
Mr. Turk added that the Nazi concentration camps and death trains were staffed, and the victims had often been identified to the police, by people they knew.
“Countless bystanders looked away from or were indifferent to – what they must have suspected was extraordinary, inhuman brutality,” he said.
“The dehumanization that enabled the Holocaust – the depth and scale of this failure of empathy and fellow feeling for other human beings – is incomprehensible and terrifying.”
He stressed that the world’s horror at the Holocaust led directly to the adoption of the Genocide Convention and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75 years ago and instrumental in the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights and a host of international treaties that enshrine equality, dignity and rights in the face of tyranny and destitution.
He added that these are conventions and principles and values that must forever be upheld.
Mr. Turk said “It is our duty to seek answers to how these crimes could have been prevented,”. “If we do not, they could happen again,” Turk concluded his remarks.
