Ottawa, February 25, 2014 — The Canadian Chair Year of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) officially concluded today at a handover ceremony in Berlin. Dr. Mario Silva, Canadian Chair, formally passed the Chairmanship to the United Kingdom (UK) and Sir Andrew Burns, the UK's Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust issues.
Canada assumed the Chair of the IHRA in March 2013 and committed to an ambitious campaign to raise Holocaust awareness and fight anti-Semitism both in Canada and internationally. Throughout the past year, Canada maintained its status as a world leader in promoting Holocaust education, remembrance and research with key accomplishments highlighted in an inaugural annual report that includes:
- achieving international consensus on a working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion;
- hosting two international working meetings bringing together experts and policy makers;
- funding the digitization of Holocaust survivor testimony; and
- organizing numerous Holocaust remembrance, research and education events as well as initiatives such as:
Canada will continue to work closely with the IHRA as an active member country. Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, has named Dr. Andrew Bennett, Canada's Ambassador for Religious Freedom, as Canada's new Head of Delegation to the IHRA where he will continue to promote Holocaust awareness and further the global fight against anti-Semitism.
“The IHRA brings political and social leaders together from around the world to help prevent future human rights abuses through Holocaust education, remembrance and research. I am proud of Canada's leadership on the world stage in the fight against anti-Semitism and I was honoured to have served as the Canadian Chair over this past year.
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Dr. Mario Silva, Canadian Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Holocaust remembrance and education across the country and internationally. Canada's goals going into our chair year were ambitious, and I'm proud of the significant progress we have made. The Holocaust stands alone in the annals of human evil and the work of organizations such as the IHRA is critical to ensuring that future generations learn the important lessons of this tragedy.
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Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism
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