The members of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) made a joint declaration on January 29, 2000 by members of nations around the world to respectful remembrance of the Holocaust and moral lessons from history. The Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust calls for the world to remember the “terrible truth of the Holocaust against those who deny it,” and of preserving the memory of the Holocaust as a “touchstone in our understanding of the human capacity for evil and for good.”
Along with the documents of our rights, humanity also has some basic responsibilities. One of these is to reject genocide and never forget “the human capacity for good and evil.” The Declaration calls for our shared responsibility to remember “With humanity still scarred by genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, the international community shares a solemn responsibility to fight those evils. Together we must uphold the terrible truth of the Holocaust against those who deny it. We must strengthen the moral commitment of our peoples, and the political commitment of our governments, to ensure that future generations can understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect upon its consequences.”
The IHRA provides the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in numerous world languages. The forum on this declaration was attended by 46 governments including, 23 Heads of State or Prime Ministers and 14 Deputy Prime Ministers or Ministers. The IHRA has 31 member countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Israel, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. It also has eight observer countries, and seven international partners (including the United Nations).
The message of this declaration must continue to be shared among all people.
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Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust
“The members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance are committed to the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, which reads as follows:”
“1. The Holocaust (Shoah) fundamentally challenged the foundations of civilization. The unprecedented character of the Holocaust will always hold universal meaning. After half a century, it remains an event close enough in time that survivors can still bear witness to the horrors that engulfed the Jewish people. The terrible suffering of the many millions of other victims of the Nazis has left an indelible scar across Europe as well.”
“2. The magnitude of the Holocaust, planned and carried out by the Nazis, must be forever seared in our collective memory. The selfless sacrifices of those who defied the Nazis, and sometimes gave their own lives to protect or rescue the Holocaust’s victims, must also be inscribed in our hearts. The depths of that horror, and the heights of their heroism, can be touchstones in our understanding of the human capacity for evil and for good.”
“3. With humanity still scarred by genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, the international community shares a solemn responsibility to fight those evils. Together we must uphold the terrible truth of the Holocaust against those who deny it. We must strengthen the moral commitment of our peoples, and the political commitment of our governments, to ensure that future generations can understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect upon its consequences.”
“4. We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education, remembrance and research about the Holocaust, both in those of our countries that have already done much and those that choose to join this effort.”
“5. We share a commitment to encourage the study of the Holocaust in all its dimensions. We will promote education about the Holocaust in our schools and universities, in our communities and encourage it in other institutions.”
“6. We share a commitment to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to honour those who stood against it. We will encourage appropriate forms of Holocaust remembrance, including an annual Day of Holocaust Remembrance, in our countries.”
“7. We share a commitment to throw light on the still obscured shadows of the Holocaust. We will take all necessary steps to facilitate the opening of archives in order to ensure that all documents bearing on the Holocaust are available to researchers.”
“8. It is appropriate that this, the first major international conference of the new millenium, declares its commitment to plant the seeds of a better future amidst the soil of a bitter past. We empathize with the victims’ suffering and draw inspiration from their struggle. Our commitment must be to remember the victims who perished, respect the survivors still with us, and reaffirm humanity’s common aspiration for mutual understanding and justice.”
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On January 1, 2015, 31 member countries, eight observer countries and seven Permanent International Partners reaffirmed their commitment to the Stockholm Declaration to mark its 15th anniversary.
Their reaffirmation stated:
“The unprecedented character of the Holocaust will always hold universal meaning for us. We are committed to remembering and honouring its victims, to upholding the terrible truth of the Holocaust, to standing up against those who distort or deny it and to combatting antisemitism, racism and prejudice against the Roma and Sinti. We are determined to continue to develop our international cooperation on Holocaust education, remembrance and research and the prevention of future genocides.”
Member nations of the IHRA
The IHRA also has seven Permanent International Partners: United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE/ODIHR, International Tracing Service (ITS), European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Council of Europe, and the Claims Conference.