Звернення Постійного представника України при ООН Сергія Кислиці з нагоди Міжнародного дня вшанування пам'яті жертв Голокосту

Dear friends,

In two days, we will pay tribute to the victims of one of the most atrocious crimes in the human history.

Established by a consensus decision of the UN General Assembly in 2005, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the victims of the inhumane attempt to wipe off the entire people from the face of the earth.

The memory of this tragedy resonates deeply in the Ukrainian society as 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews fell victims to the Holocaust, which is almost a quarter of all Jews killed during the Holocaust. Sixty per cent of Ukraine’s Jewish population perished.

This September Ukraine will commemorate 80th anniversary since Babyn Yar tragedy – a common painful page in history of both Ukrainian and Jewish people. Honoring at the commemorative event in Babyn Yar in 2019 dozens of thousands people, who were killed by Nazis there, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that, “we have no right to forget these terrible crimes. Never again!”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day must always remind all of us about our international obligations and commitments on respect for human rights. It is of paramount importance to ensure that all people may enjoy, equally and without discrimination, the human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Ukraine firmly condemns any attempts to deny the Holocaust, war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as manifestations of intolerance, incitement of hatred, harassment or violence against persons or communities, wherever they occur and regardless of which groups they target.

The Holocaust is also a powerful global reminder of how horrible the outcomes of morbid geopolitical reflections and attempt to place oneself above the established rules could be for the mankind.

Blatant breaches of international law and use of force to change borders inflict grave damage to democratic stability, human rights and peace at the global level. And one of the most flagrant violations of human dignity, cases of xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination often take place in the situations of foreign occupation.

The tragedy of the 6 million victims of the Holocaust should constantly reminds us that the response of the international community to anti-Semitism and any form of violence, hatred and violation of international law must be, timely and adequate and collective.

Thank you.