[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E26-E27]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN INAUGURATES INTERNATIONAL DAY OF 
             COMMEMORATION FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 31, 2006

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call to my Colleagues' 
attention to a very important event, the first annual International Day 
of Commemoration for the Victims of the Holocaust, which took place 
last Friday, January 27, 2006, at the U.N. in New York.
  Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of my two good friends, Secretary 
General Kofi Annan and General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, the 
U.N. established this annual remembrance, and in doing so, has taken a 
critical step to begin to undue a dark legacy of bias and hatred 
directed against Jews and the Democratic State of Israel that has long 
plagued the U.N. The idea for an annual U.N. Commemoration for the 
Victims of the Holocaust, which was instituted by Resolution 60/7 on 
November 1, 2005, grew out of an event that took place one year ago in 
New York, an historic Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly to 
mark the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Nazi Death Camps on 
January 25, 2005. Last year's U.N. Special Session was convened with 
the support of the vast majority of U.N. member State's at the urging 
of Secretary General Annan.
  The relevance of and the need for this International Day of 
Commemoration for the Victims of the Holocaust could not be more clear. 
Mr. Speaker, in the months following the establishment of the 
International Day of Commemoration for the Victims of the Holocaust by 
Resolution 60/7, the current President of Iran, Mr. Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad, has publicly stated that he believes that Holocaust is a 
``myth'' and that Israel ``should be wiped off the map.''
  Mr. Speaker, I draw my colleagues attentions to the courageous 
remarks U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered on the occasion of 
the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the 
Holocaust last Friday, January 27th. The Secretary General stated, 
``Remembering is a necessary rebuke to those who say the Holocaust 
never happened or has been exaggerated. Holocaust denial is the work of 
bigots. We must reject their false claims whenever, wherever and by 
whomever they are made.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the entire text of the Secretary General's 
important address be placed in the Record. I also ask that the entire 
text of remarks delivered at that same event by General Assembly 
President Jan Eliasson of Sweden and Israel's Permanent Representative 
to the United Nation's, Ambassador Dan Gillerman be included in the 
Record.

  Message for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the 
        Victims of the Holocaust by Secretary-General Kofi Annan

       Today, for the first time, the United Nations marks what 
     will, from now on be an annual observance: the International 
     Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the 
     Holocaust.
       There can be no reversing the unique tragedy of the 
     Holocaust. It must be remembered, with shame and horror, for 
     as long as human memory continues.
       Only by remembering can we pay fitting tribute to the 
     victims. Millions of innocent Jews and members of other 
     minorities were murdered in the most barbarous ways 
     imaginable. We must never forget those men, women and 
     children, or their agony.
       Remembering is a necessary rebuke to those who say the 
     Holocaust never happened or has been exaggerated. Holocaust 
     denial is the work of bigots. We must reject their false 
     claims whenever, wherever and by whomever they are made.
       Remembering is also a safeguard for the future. The abyss 
     reached in the Nazi death camps started with hatred, 
     prejudice and anti-Semitism. Recalling these origins can 
     remind us to be ever on the lookout for warning signs.
       As the Holocaust recedes in time, and as the number of 
     survivors dwindles, it falls to us--the current generation--
     to carry the torch of remembrance and uphold the cause of 
     human dignity.
       The United Nations was founded as a reaction to the horrors 
     of the Second World War. Even so, the international community 
     has too often failed to stand up to mass atrocities.
       In recent years we have taken important steps to improve on 
     that record, such as establishing the International Criminal 
     Court and agreeing on the collective responsibility to 
     protect.
       On this International Day of Commemoration, the theme of 
     our observance is ``remembrance and beyond''. In that spirit, 
     let us pledge ourselves to even greater efforts to prevent 
     genocide and crimes against humanity.
                                  ____


 Message by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. 
     Mr. Jan Eliasson, on the Occasion of the International Day of 
        Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

       Today we observe for the first time the International Day 
     of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. 
     This event will take place every year on 27 January. This 
     follows the adoption without a vote of General Assembly 
     resolution 60/7 on ``Holocaust remembrance'', on 1 November, 
     2005.
       This year's commemoration is of special significance. It 
     takes place only one year after the General Assembly's 
     Special Session on 24 January 2005, which marked the sixtieth 
     anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration 
     camps.
       The liberation of the Nazi death camps revealed to the 
     world one of the most horrendous crimes against humanity. 
     Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, Sobibor, and Treblinka are among 
     the sites where the lives of millions of people were 
     extinguished on political, religious or ethnic grounds.
       Remembering this low point in human history is a solemn 
     duty for all of us. We must continue to exorcise the evil of 
     the past. In resolution 60/7, the General Assembly 
     unequivocally ``rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an 
     historic event, either in full or in part.''

[[Page E27]]

       We must also commit ourselves to preventing the 
     reoccurrence of genocide in the future, whenever and wherever 
     it might occur. We must remain vigilant. The forces of 
     hatred, bigotry and racism are still at work in the world.
       It is a tragedy that the international community has not 
     been able to stop new horrors in the years since the 
     Holocaust. This makes it all the more important that we 
     remember the lessons of the Holocaust. It must be a unifying 
     cause around which we all can rally.
       On this International Day of Commemoration let us pay 
     tribute to all the victims of the Holocaust. Let us also 
     honour the survivors. And in looking back at this sombre page 
     of history and other atrocities and crimes of genocide 
     following it, let us join forces and recommit ourselves to 
     building mutual respect and dignity for all. Holocaust 
     remembrance will strengthen us in this resolve.
                                  ____


  International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the 
   Holocaust, Statement by H.E. Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent 
                             Representative

       I, Danny Gillerman, born in Israel to parents who fled the 
     Nazis, but whose grandparents and family perished, stand 
     before you today, as an Israeli, a Jew, and a citizen of the 
     world--moved and filled with pride as the world embarks on a 
     journey beyond remembrance.
       I stand here as a representative of the Jewish State that 
     arose out of the ashes of the Holocaust. A Jewish State whose 
     cabinet yesterday convened a Special Session at the Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem. A Jewish State that 
     has become, against all odds, a beacon of beauty, excellence, 
     creativity, and justice for the whole world.
       And today, on this solemn occasion, I urge you to imagine. 
     Indeed many of you in this hall don't need to imagine because 
     you were there, but I urge the rest of the world to imagine--
     imagine the shattering of skulls, the burning of flesh, the 
     cries of anguish. Look at one child, and multiply it by a 
     million and a half. Look at one member of your family and 
     multiply him by six million. Imagine!
       But imagine too what a world this would be if they, and 
     their children, were still with us. How much more beauty, 
     more excellence, more art and culture, more cures and 
     innovations there would be. Imagine. Imagine how much better 
     the world would be.
       So today, as we look to the past, embrace the present, and 
     look to the future, we must all pray. We must remember, 
     salute, sound an alarm, and vow. We remember the sacrifice of 
     the victims, we salute the courage of the survivors, many of 
     them in this hall, whose numbers dwindle as the Holocaust 
     turns from being memory to becoming history. And we sound an 
     alarm, a call to arms, and a wake up call to the world.
       A world in which a Member State of this organization calls 
     for wiping Israel off the face of the map. A world in which 
     an extreme and evil regime denies the Holocaust while 
     preparing the next one.
       A world that stood still 65 years ago and has since 
     witnessed Cambodia and Rwanda.
       A world that must act today to atone for yesterday and 
     preserve our tomorrow.
       On this day, I want to also express to you in this hall and 
     around the world, my deep regret. I deeply, very deeply 
     regret, and I believe the rest of the world should too, that 
     the State of Israel did not exist in 1938 or 1943. Because if 
     it did, this horrible event would never have happened.
       And today, from this podium, in this hall, on this solemn 
     day, I vow to you. I vow to you that as long as there is an 
     Israel, no Jew will again be made to wear a yellow star or be 
     tattooed with a number. And I vow to you that there will 
     forever be an Israel, so these horrors will never be 
     witnessed again--Never Again!
       Ladies and Gentlemen, as we gather here today, night is 
     descending on Jerusalem, and the Jewish Sabbath is enfolding 
     Israel. So it is from here, from this world stage, that I say 
     this Eve of Shabbat prayer:
       ``May God Give His People Strength. May God Bless His 
     People With Peace.''
       Shabbat Shalom.

                          ____________________