January 27, 2015 - Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom and head of the Canadian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, today issued the following statement:
“Today, 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the 31 member and eight observer countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), together with our seven permanent international partners, have collectively reaffirmed our strong and unqualified support for the founding document of our organization, the Stockholm Declaration of the year 2000, and the solemn commitments which our governments then undertook.
“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 anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice against the Roma and Sinti.
“As we acknowledge International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we are determined to continue to develop our international cooperation on Holocaust education, remembrance and research, and on the prevention of future genocides. We again recognize on this day and at this time the evil that has been wrought by anti-Semitism, xenophobia and genocide.
“Canada remains committed to remembering and honouring the victims of the Holocaust, to upholding the undeniable truth of the Holocaust, and to standing up against those who distort or deny this terrible fact of history. Canada’s reaffirmation of the Stockholm Declaration is part of our ongoing international efforts to combat anti-Semitism in all of its pernicious forms, both old and new.”
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