THE HOLOCAUST AND THE UNITED NATIONS OUTREACH PROGRAMME

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The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
I. International Day of Commemoration in memory
of the victims of the Holocaust
Each year the Holocaust and
the United Nations Outreach
Programme takes the lead in
organizing events held around
the world for the annual International
Day of Commemoration
in memory of the victims of
the Holocaust. On its 10th anniversary,
the Programme organ-
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses
the United Nations memorial ceremony to
mark the International Day of Commemoration
in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
ized a moving ceremony on 28
January centred on the theme
on 28 January 2015.
Photo Credit: UN Photo/ Loey Felipe “Liberty, Life and the Legacy of
the Holocaust Survivors.” The
2015 observance also coincided with two milestone events: the 70th
anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding
of the United Nations. The Organization’s establishment seven decades
ago in 1945 reflects how deeply it was shaped by the experience
of the Holocaust. Both the Charter of the United Nations and
Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrine the principles of
human rights for all peoples around the world.
The 2015 Holocaust Memorial ceremony included remarks from
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; H.E. Mr. Reuven
Rivlin, President of the State of Israel, H.E. Mr. Denis G. Antoine,
Vice-President of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations
General Assembly, delivered on behalf of H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba
Kutesa, the President of the General Assembly; H.E. Mr. David
Pressman, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs
of the United States to the United Nations, Holocaust survivor Mrs.
Jona Laks, and Soviet Army veteran Mr. Boris Feldman. Keynote
speaker Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate,
delivered the keynote address via video message. Violinist Miri
Ben-Ari performed and Cantor Shimmy Miller, from the Ahavath