The
International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is
celebrated every year on 27 January. In a resolution entitled "Holocaust
Remembrance", the General Assembly decided that the United Nations would
celebrate it each year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the
Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The resolution
encourages States to promote educational projects and to protect places of
remembrance linked to the Holocaust. It undertakes to promote a programme at
United Nations level to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust and prevent such
an event from happening again. Commemorations and events are therefore organized
throughout the world.
In Cameroon,
Holocaust Remembrance Day was held on 31 January at the United Nations
Information Centre, UNIC, and was attended by the Special Envoy of the State of
Israel to Cameroon, H.E. Raphael Morav. He was accompanied by the Chargé affairs
of the Israeli Embassy in Cameroon, Mrs. Noga Lewenstein.
During the
commemoration, the Centre's Director Mr. Jean Njita, raised awareness among the
young students present about the Holocaust, the dangers of hatred and
anti-Semitism, and ways of combating misinformation. The Message from the
Secretary General of the United Nations was broadcast. A video on children
(survivors) of the Shoah was then shown. Candles were lit in memory of the six
million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
In his address
to the audience, Ambassador Morav recalled that "anti-Semitism did not
begin with the Nazis and did not end with the liberation of the camps in 1945;
it has taken different forms and manifestations, and today anti-Semitism is
still alive and spreading". He therefore insisted that "We all have a
responsibility (...). We must redouble our efforts in the fight against
anti-Semitism. We must fight against the rise of evil and hatred. We must fight
against indifference and never forget our responsibilities".
The event closed
with refreshments and a family photo.