[R-G] Holocaust Remembrance Day planned for Geneva during UN Conference Against Racism

[Sid Shniad]

Holocaust Remembrance Day 

Place des Nations - Geneva 

Monday , 20 April , 2009 - 6.30 PM 



  

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, in memory of the six million Jewish victims 

of the Shoah, the Jewish Communities of Geneva will organize a public 

commemorative ceremony on Monday , 20 April at 6:30 PM. The event will 

bring together survivors of the Shoah from across the religious spectrum, 

and will include public officials, diplomats, and religious leaders. 



  

The ceremony will take place at the Place des Nations, a symbolic location 

due to the opening, on the same day and under the auspices of the United 

Nations, of the Durban Review Conference against Racism. The ceremony in 

commemoration of the Holocaust will remind all those present of the 

potential consequences of racism and discrimination. 



  

The commemoration will highlight the universal lessons of the Shoah while 

also serving as a testament against Holocaust denial. In this spirit, 

tribute will be paid to René Cassin and Raphaël Lemkin, two personalities 

who, from the ashes of destruction, framed two fundamental texts that 

strive for the betterment of humanity and the elimination of genocide: the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention on the 

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 



  

Keynote speakers: 



  

Irwin Cotler, Canadian Member of Parliament, Former Minister of Justice, 

and attorney for leading human rights figures including Nelson Mandela 

and Andrei Sakharov. 



Père Patrick Desbois, Director of the National Service for relations with 

Judaism in France, counsellor to the Vatican on Judaism, and author of 

"Porteur de mémoires - Sur les traces de la Shoah par balles." 



Bernard-Henri Lévy, Writer, philosopher, public intellectual. 



Simone Veil, Former President of the European Parliament, Former French 

Minister of Health, and Shoah survivor. 



Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Shoah survivor. 



  

The ceremony will also include: 



  

Reading of names of victims of the Shoah. 



Lighting the flame of memory - In memory of the six million Jews and other 

minorities that were murdered during the Shoah, the Flame of Memory will 

be lit by Shoah survivors in the presence of representatives from the 

Romani community, a Swiss citizen who sheltered those fleeing Nazi 

persecution, as well as former members of the resistance movement. 



  

Tributes to René Cassin and Raphaël Lemkin. 



  

Musical and choral ensemble 



  

Contact: 



  

To reserve a seat in the media section, or to schedule interviews with 

keynote speakers or members of the organizing committee, either prior to 

or on the day of the ceremony, please contact Maude Hug at +41 22 308 62 

23 or maude.hug at yomhashoah09.org . 



  

To download a copy of the event press kit, or for more detailed 

information on the commemoration, please visit www.yomhashoah09.org .