FORUM: “Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights.” International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2026. Eighty one years ago, in response to the atrocities of the war and the Holocaust, governments of the world established the United Nations, pledging to work together to build a just world where human rights were enshrined, and all could live with dignity, in peace. Acknowledging the milestone year, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has chosen as its guiding theme for 2026, “Holocaust remembrance and education for dignity and human rights”. The theme will reflect on the critical relevance of Holocaust remembrance for the present, where the dignity and human rights of our fellow global citizens are under daily attack. The Holocaust shows what happens when hatred, dehumanization and apathy win. Its remembrance is a bulwark against the denigration of humanity, and a clarion call for collective action to ensure respect for dignity and human rights, and the international law that protects both. Holocaust remembrance safeguards the memories of survivors and their testament of life before the Holocaust – of vibrant communities, of traditions, of hopes and dreams, of loved ones who did not survive. Safeguarding the history brings dignity to those the Nazis and their collaborators sought to destroy. Remembrance of the Holocaust is a victory against the Nazis and their collaborators, and against all who would try to continue their legacy through spreading hatred, Holocaust distortion and denial into the 21st century. Share your reflections with the hashtags: #27January, #HolocaustRemembranceDay, #austwitz, #WeRemember, #HolocaustRemembrance.
COMMEMORATIONS: Join the observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2026 on January 27th. Register to participate!
On Thursday, January 29th 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m. the Reception, and 7:00 p.m. the exhibit entitled “Between Life and Death” followed by the Panel discussion entitled “Stories of Rescue During the Holocaust” will be held at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The Holocaust survivor Elżbieta Ficowska and historians Jay Winter, Daniel Blatman and Mordecai Paldiel will explore how Holocaust remembrance has evolved, how stories of rescuers and survivors can be shared with younger generations, and how challenges such as disinformation, artificial intelligence, and fading living memory can be addressed. Jayashri Wyatt, Chief, Education Outreach Section at United Nations Department of Global Communications, moderates the discussion. The discussion is jointly organized by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS), YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, the Center for Jewish History, together with the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. It is supported by the Sousa Mendes Foundation. Read more and register!
On Tuesday, January 27th, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. 12:30 EST will be held the annual Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, an commemorative event organized in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2026 at the United Nations General Assembly Hall. Four Holocaust survivors will share their experiences of the Holocaust. Guided by the theme, “Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights”, the United Nations Secretary-General, the President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Permanent Representatives of Israel and the United States to the United Nations, will deliver remarks. Ms. Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, will host the proceedings. Watch the livestream!
On Monday, January 26th 2026; from 3:00-4:30 p.m. A high-level panel will explore how emerging technologies, including AI, gaming, and VR, can preserve Holocaust memory, counter denial and distortion, and combat the spread of hate.The panel discussion is organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations together with the World Jewish Congress as part of the programme of activities connected to the 27 January International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust under the theme "Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights". Invited speakers include Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden, Director, The Landecker Digital Memory Lab, University of Sussex and Mr. Luc Bernard, Game designer, The Light in the Darkness. Ms. Yfat Barak-Cheney, Executive Director, Institute for Technology and Human Rights, World Jewish Congress will moderate the discussion. Watch online
STATEMENTS: Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on the International Holocaust Remembrance Service 2026; January 27th.
Excellencies, dear friends,
I am deeply honoured to join you and humbled by the presence of Holocaust survivors and their families.
We gather in solemn remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust.
They were mothers and fathers.
Sons and daughters.
Grandparents and grandchildren.
Six million Jews murdered just because they were Jewish.
We also grieve the Roma and Sinti, the people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, and so many more who were enslaved, persecuted, tortured, and killed.
And we also remember the stories and struggles of those who confronted the worst of humanity to show us the best.
Diplomats who defied orders and issued life saving visas.
Journalists who fought to expose the truth.
And farmers and villagers who hid families at great peril.
Remembrance is more than honouring the past.
It is a duty and a promise: to defend dignity, to protect the vulnerable, and to keep faith with those whose names and stories we refuse to forget.
The Holocaust, after all, is not only history.
It is a warning.
A warning that hatred, once unleashed, can consume everything.
Excellencies, dear friends,
Today that warning feels more urgent than ever.
Antisemitism around the world is raging.
Jewish communities live in fear.
Synagogues attacked.
Families shattered.
Vile antisemitic hatred racing across cyberspace.
We are haunted by the horrific terror attack of October 7 — which I once again categorically condemn — along with the taking of hostages, and the acts of hatred targeting Jews around the world in recent years, and, indeed, in recent weeks.
But coming together as we have come today, to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust fills me with hope.
I see the power of humanity in all of you.
I see the courage of survivors who turned pain into purpose.
I see the commitment of young people — of every faith and nation — standing together against hate.
I see the strength of solidarity when communities unite.
You are here because you choose hope over hate.
You choose remembrance as a living force — a shield against prejudice, a spark for justice, a pledge to protect every human being.
Excellencies, dear friends,
This show of unity is more important than ever.
Because we know the Holocaust is a stark demonstration of the dangers of unchecked hatred.
The Holocaust did not begin with killing.
It began with words.
Its architects telegraphed their evil intentions.
They deliberately spread a hateful, supremacist ideology that preyed on fear and economic despair.
This powerful engine of hate was given fuel through the systematic dismantling of democratic institutions, the stifling of the press, the persecution of civil society, the corruption of courts, and the erosion of the rule of law.
It included a mastery of the technology of the time.
Controlling information.
Deploying propaganda and manipulating public discourse.
Spreading antisemitic and racist hatred with devastating efficiency.
And we must never forget the painful truth that Jewish families who sought refuge were met with the cold shoulder of indifference, closed borders and bureaucratic barriers.
This dark chapter of our common history reveals sobering truths.
When those with power fail to act, evil goes unpunished.
When the past is distorted, denied and weaponized, hatred and prejudice fester.
When words become weapons, lies, conspiracies, the casual joke and the coded slur can grow until the unthinkable becomes policy and violence.
So let us together pledge to stand against antisemitism and all forms of hatred — and against bigotry, racism and discrimination anywhere and everywhere.
Excellencies, dear friends,
This is the tenth time I have had the privilege as Secretary-General to address you on this day of remembrance.
For me, Holocaust remembrance — and the fight against the ancient poison of antisemitism — is not abstract.
It is personal.
One of my personal achievements as Prime Minister of Portugal was working with Parliament to adopt a decree that revoked the 16th century expulsion of Jews from my country.
I am happy to see tens of thousands of descendants of those expelled families regaining Portuguese nationality.
This was a symbolic step — but one that demonstrated the importance of acknowledging the depth of our remorse, even the remorse for the crimes of our country, remorse for the past, and our commitment to build a better, more inclusive future.
A commitment that goes to the core of what brings us here today in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
As Secretary-General, I remember standing in Yad Vashem, confronted by the immense weight of memory and the countless lives extinguished in the darkness of hatred.
I have prayed together with the Jewish community in the aftermath of atrocious acts of violence and antisemitism.
I have heard testimonies from Holocaust survivors about their experiences that began with a knock on the door — and ended with lives erased.
And I have always understood the clear link between the horrors of the Holocaust and the spirit of multilateralism, justice and rights that founded our organization.
Excellencies, dear friends,
Just over 80 years ago, the Nuremberg trials began.
These trials represented the beginning of a new era in international criminal law.
An era in which individuals, including the most powerful, are held accountable.
Today, more than ever, we need to reclaim that spirit.
At the opening of Nuremberg, Justice Robert H. Jackson warned us:
“These prisoners represent sinister influences that will lurk in the world long after their bodies have returned to dust.”
These influences — antisemitism, racism, hatred — are very much still with us.
Our duty is clear:
To speak the truth.
To educate new generations.
To confront antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination.
And to defend the dignity of every human being.
But it is also our duty to keep alive the spirit of acting in common purpose, through multilateralism, to ensure that the forces of humanity always triumph over the forces of inhumanity.
Let us honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust by recommitting to justice, dignity, compassion and vigilance.
To a world where humanity stands united against oppression.
And where the terrible legacy of the past strengthens our resolve to protect human rights today and in the future.
Let us forever carry in our hearts the Holocaust’s victims, whose calls for justice and peace can never be extinguished.
May their memory be a blessing.
Thank you.
Commemorative ceremony to mark of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust 2026 at the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV)
At UN GENEVA This Day was chosen to mark the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp in 1945.
GALLERY PHOTOS:
UNHQ, New York.
General Assembly on the Observance of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
UN GENEVA
AT UNOV Vienna
PERMANENT MISSION OF RUSSIA TO THE U.N.
On January 27, 1944, Leningrad was completely liberated from the Nazi blockade.
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