Saturday, 28 February 2015

World Cancer Day 2015, February 4

2015 Theme: ‘Not beyond us’ 

 Tema del 2015: «A nuestro alcance».

Thème 2015 : « À notre portée »

世界癌症日, 2月4日.
2015年主题：实现癌症防控目标并不遥远.


موضوع عام 2015: علاج السرطان في متناولنا





 Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells. It can affect almost any part of the body. The growths often invade surrounding tissue and can metastasize to distant sites. Many cancers can be prevented by avoiding exposure to common risk factors, such as tobacco smoke. In addition, a significant proportion of cancers can be cured, by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, especially if they are detected early.
Taking place under the tagline ‘Not beyond us’, World Cancer Day 2015 takes a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer, highlighting that solutions do exist across the continuum of cancer, and that they are within our reach. The campaign explores how we can implement what we already know in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment and care.



Today, 4 February 2015, the World Health Organization joins the rest of the international community in commemorating World Cancer Day. The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Not beyond us”. This theme highlights the efforts that individuals, communities, governments and other stakeholders can make in the prevention and control of cancer.

The burden of cancer has been on the increase over the past few decades. In 2012 alone, 8.2 million people worldwide were estimated to have died from cancer. More than two thirds of these deaths occurred in low- and middle- income countries.

The rise in the number of cases of cancer is due to ageing populations and the increasing adoption of risk behavior such as: consumption of unhealthy diets, lack of physical exercise, harmful use of alcohol and tobacco use. In the African Region, infections due to human papillomavirus and hepatitis B and C viruses significantly contribute to the burden of the top two cancers, namely cervical and liver cancer respectively.

Globally, cost-effective solutions such as vaccination, regular cancer screening, and proven therapies are available and within the reach of individuals, communities, governments and other stakeholders. Unfortunately, in Africa, access to these solutions is limited. There is also lack of awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer resulting in most people seeking medical help at a later stage when the disease is advanced and cure is not possible.

Many lives can be saved in our Region if appropriate investment is made in raising public awareness on the early signs and symptoms of common cancers. In addition people should adopt healthy lifestyles that reduce the risk of cancers.

As we commemorate World Cancer Day, I call upon African governments to scale up access to vaccines for cancer prevention, screening services for early detection of cancer and provision of treatment, and palliative care services. Development partners on the other hand should align their efforts and support governments to achieve their national cancer control objectives by supporting improved access to health care services and provision of adequate resources.
I urge Member States in the WHO African Region to ensure that their integrated Non Communicable Disease Action Plans address cancer prevention and control in a holistic and multisectoral manner. It is also vital that governments strengthen cancer surveillance and establish cancer registers.

The World Health Organization on its part will continue to support Member States’ in their cancer control efforts.




WCD 2015 - Official Global Press Release
Affordable funding increase can save three million lives per year from cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by 2030


External Links and Resources

Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012 . This number is expected to increase to 24 million by 2035 . Find some useful resources here below.

What causes cancer?
International Childhood Cancer Day, February 15th.
National Cancer Institute’s Dictionary of Cancer Terms
What Causes Cancer? 34 Cancer Risk Calculators
Cancer Prevention Recommendations
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Cancer Treatment
Caring for the Patient with Cancer at Home: A Guide for Patients and Families
Nearing the End of Life | American Cancer Society
Medicare Hospice and Respite Coverage for Cancer Patients
 More on World Cancer Day

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International Mother Language Day 2015, February 21

2015 Theme: Inclusive Education through and with Language - Language Matters.

 Tema de 2015: La educación inclusiva por medio del idioma y con él – Los idiomas cuentan.

 Thème 2015 : « L’éducation inclusive grâce aux langues – les langues comptent »


Тема Дня 2015 года «Инклюзивное образование посредством и с помощью языка. Языки — это важно».

موضوع عام 2015 - التعليم الجامع عبر اللغة وباستخدامها - للغات شأن





2015 marks the 15th anniversary of International Mother Language Day – this is also a turning point year for the international community, as the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, when countries will define a new global sustainable development agenda.
The focus for the post-2015 agenda must fall on the priority of advancing quality education for all -- widening access, ensuring equality and inclusiveness, and promoting education for global citizenship and sustainable development. Education in the mother language is an essential part of achieving these goals -- to facilitate learning and to bolster skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Taking this forward requires a sharper focus on teaching training, revisions of academic programmes and the creation of suitable learning environments.
UNESCO takes forward these goals across the world. In Latin America, with the United Nations Children's Fund, UNESCO is promoting inclusive education through bilingual intercultural approaches, in order to include both native and non-native cultures. For the same reasons, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok, Thailand, is working to deepen understandings of multilingual education based on the mother tongue, across the region and further afield. Mother tongue education is force for quality learning – it is also essential to bolster multilingualism and respect for linguistic and cultural diversity in societies that are transforming quickly.

Since 2000, there has been tremendous progress to reach the goals of Education for All. Today, we must look ahead – to complete unfinished business and to tackle new challenges. International Mother Language Day is a moment for all of us to raise the flag for the importance of mother tongue to all educational efforts, to enhance the quality of learning and to reach the unreached. Every girl and boy, every woman and man must have the tools to participate fully in the lives of their societies – this is a basic human right and it is a force for the sustainability of all development.




Irina Bokova



Forum : International Mother Language Day

Events : International Mother Language day 2015
When, local time: 
Friday, 20 February 2015 - 10:00am to 1:00pm
Where: 
France, Paris
Type of Event: 
Special event
Contact: 
n.andriamiseza@unesco.org
The theme for IMLD 2015 is "Inclusion in and through education: Language counts". Its focus is on one of the main challenges that cuts across many of the goals, i.e. Inclusion (equity/quality).
The opening ceremony will include a speech by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to France, the Permanent Delegate of Bangladesh to UNESCO and the representative of Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
A debate will follow with Monica Perena, Director of Linguapax, Thésée Gina, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Mike Fleming, University de Durham, speaking on behalf of the Council of Europe, and M. Philippe Benoit, INALCO.
As the EFA Goals are far from attained due, in part, to the difficulties of reaching the worst-off segments of the population, the debate around language and education becomes more central. Linguistic minorities are often among the most marginalized populations, with little or poor access to quality education. When they do have access to education, learners from these communities are often either excluded from opportunities to pursue their educational career beyond primary or pushed out of education because the language of instruction is not their own.
Links: 
Languages in Education
Theme page: 
Education for the 21st Century
- See more at: http://en.unesco.org/events/international-mother-language-day-celebration-2015#sthash.AoWZo8tM.dpuf
When, local time:  Friday, 20 February 2015 - 10:00am to 1:00pm 
Where:  UNESCO France, Paris 
Type of Event:  Special event 
Contact:  n.andriamiseza@unesco.org 


    The theme for IMLD 2015 is "Inclusion in and through education: Language counts". Its focus is on one of the main challenges that cuts across many of the goals, i.e. Inclusion (equity/quality).  

    The opening ceremony will include a speech by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to France, the Permanent Delegate of Bangladesh to UNESCO and the representative of Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. A debate will follow with Monica Perena, Director of Linguapax, Thésée Gina, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Mike Fleming, University de Durham, speaking on behalf of the Council of Europe, and M. Philippe Benoit, INALCO.  As the EFA Goals are far from attained due, in part, to the difficulties of reaching the worst-off segments of the population, the debate around language and education becomes more central. 

    Linguistic minorities are often among the most marginalized populations, with little or poor access to quality education. When they do have access to education, learners from these communities are often either excluded from opportunities to pursue their educational career beyond primary or pushed out of education because the language of instruction is not their own.


Inclusive Education through and with Language - Language Matters


Publications : 
 Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Educatione  (PDF)
 Towards UNESCO,s World Atlas of Languages: Final Recommendations for the Action Plan
 
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World Day of Social Justice 2015, February 20


2015 Theme: Ending human trafficking and forced labour

 Tema de 2015: «Poner fin a la trata de personas y al trabajo forzoso»

 Thème 2015 : Mettre fin à la traite des humains et au travail forcé.

2015年主题：终止人口贩运及强迫劳动

Тема Дня 2015 года «Торговля людьми и принудительный труд» 

موضوع اليوم الدولي لعام 2015: إنهاء الاتجار بالبشر وظواهر العمل القسري







World Day for Social Justice comes at a pivotal moment for people and our planet.  Around the world, there is a rising call to secure a life of dignity for all with equal rights and respect for the diverse voices of the world’s peoples.  At the core of this movement lies the need for social justice.
This year’s commemoration focuses on the scourge of human trafficking and the plight of approximately 21 million women, men and children in various forms of modern slavery.  New instruments such as the ILO Protocol and Recommendation on forced labour and human trafficking are helping to strengthen global efforts to punish perpetrators and end impunity.  We must continue to do more.  We simply cannot achieve development for all if we leave behind those who are socially and economically exploited.
In this crucial year for global development, as Member States work to craft a post-2015 agenda and a new set of sustainable development goals, let us do our utmost to eradicate all forms of human exploitation.  Let us strive to build a world of social justice where all people can live and work in freedom, dignity and equality.

Ban Ki-moon

 

For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/1fkdSgV

Forum :  World Day of Social Justice
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Friday, 27 February 2015

World Wetland 2015, February 2


Theme 2015 : Wetlands for Our Future.
                      Humedales para nuestro futuro – ¡Únase a nosotros!
                     Les zones humides pour notre avenir – Participez!

Wetlands - Big benefits for people and nature
World Wetlands Day, 2 Février.
 Día Mundial de los Humedales, 2 de febrero.
 Journée mondiale des zones humides, le 2 Février.
 世界濕地日，2月2日.
 Всемирный день водно-болотных угодий, 2 февраля.

What is World Wetlands Day?
2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has provided materials so that government agencies, non-governmental organizations, conservation organizations, and groups of citizens can help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.

“Wetlands for our future” – this year’s theme for World Wetlands Day – seeks to highlight the varieties of ways in which wetlands provide for us all, and the many ways that we can all contribute to their conservation and restoration.

Too few people realize the numerous services and benefits wetlands provide and their importance for humans and the planet. Most importantly, wetlands are the source of our daily water.

Additionally wetlands feed humanity: rice, grown in wetland paddies, is the staple diet of nearly three billion people. The average human consumes 19 kg of fish each year. And most of the fish sold, breed and raise their young in coastal waters and estuaries. Moreover, 70% of all fresh water extracted globally is used for crop irrigation.

Wetlands purify and filter harmful waste from water, helping to absorb harmful fertilizers and pesticides, as well as heavy metals and toxins from industry. As an example, the Nakivubo Swamp in Kampala, Uganda filters sewage and industrial effluents for free; a treatment plant to do the same job would cost $2 million per year.
Wetlands act as nature's shock absorbers: peatlands and wet grasslands in river basins act as natural sponges, absorbing rainfall, creating wide surface pools that ease any flooding in rivers. The same storage capacity will also safeguard against the impact of drought.
Wetlands provide sustainable livelihoods and products: 61.8 million people depend directly on fishing and fisheries for a living. Timber for building, vegetable oil, medicinal plants, animal fodder, and stems and leaves for weaving also comes from our wetlands.
And importantly for our future, wetlands help to fight climate change. Peatlands alone store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined, and in the face of rising sea levels, coastal wetlands reduce the impact of hurricanes and tsunamis. They also bind the shoreline and resist erosion.





I am delighted to be joining you to celebrate World Wetlands Day! This year I will be seeing again how Uganda, which is a key Party to the Ramsar Convention, makes this day special and makes wetlands come alive and leap into people’s imaginations. With the Ramsar Centre for East Africa, I will be visiting the Letembe Bay site. We thank Danone-evian who financed the communication and outreach for World Wetlands Day.

With our theme this year as “Wetlands for our Future”, we want to highlight the choices ahead of us all, considering the all-too-real threat to wetlands around the world. Latest research indicates that over 64% of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed since 1900, and in some regions, notably Asia, the loss is even higher.

This rapid decline means that access to fresh water is worsening for almost two billion people worldwide, while flood control, disaster risk reduction, carbon storage and traditional wetland livelihoods are all suffering and our futures with them. In addition to loss of water and other wetlands services, the richness of wildlife - our biodiversity - has also been affected.

Populations of freshwater species have declined by 76% in the last forty years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Index, and this is a worse prospect than any other place on earth.
What is driving this loss? Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland; something to be drained, filled and converted to other purposes. The main causes of wetlands loss and degradation are changes in land use, especially conversion to agriculture and grazing and the growth of cities and their infrastructure. And this is all made worse by the leakage into our wetlands of an excess of nutrients, and water being diverted to make dams, ponds, channels and canals.
The reason we should care more about our wetlands is because they are the only source of our fresh water and the essential ingredient for all development. So, we need to educate people of all ages to understand how wetlands already play a part in their lives and get them to care as passionately as we do for their maintenance and restoration:
  • Wetlands provide the fresh water for every one of us. Every human needs 20-50 litres of water a day for basic drinking, cooking and cleaning. Wetlands provide that water. 
  • Wetlands also filter and clean harmful chemicals and waste from water. Plants from wetlands can help absorb harmful fertilizers and pesticides, as well as heavy metals and toxins from industry. Topically we can say that the Nakivubo Swamp in Kampala, Uganda filters all the sewage and industrial wastes for free; a treatment plant to do the same would cost over $2 million per year.
  • Wetlands feed humanity. Rice, grown in wetland paddies, is the staple diet of nearly three billion people. And the average human consumes 19 kg of fish each year, but few know that almost all commercial fish breed and raise their young in coastal marshes and estuaries. 
  • 70% of all fresh water we extract from wetlands globally is used for irrigation of our crops and help powers the business of agriculture that maintains over 570 million farms and keeps us fed. 
  • Wetlands are bursting with biodiversity. Wetlands are home to more than 100,000 known freshwater species alone, and that number is growing every year. In just 10 years, 272 new species of freshwater fish were discovered in the Amazon. 
  • Wetlands act as nature’s shock absorbers. Wetlands within river basins act as natural sponges, absorbing rainfall, creating wide surface pools that reduce the impact of flooding in rivers. The same storage capacity also safeguards against drought.
  • Wetlands help fight climate change. Peatlands alone store more than twice as much carbon as all the forests in the world! In the face of rising sea levels, coastal wetlands reduce the impact of typhoons and tsunamis. They also bind the shoreline and resist increasing levels of erosion.
  • Wetlands provide sustainable livelihoods and products. 61.8 million people depend directly on fishing and fisheries for a living. Timber for building, vegetable oil, medicinal plants, animal fodder, and stems and leaves for weaving also come from well managed wetlands.
But wetlands are also part of our emotional history. Who can’t remember a childhood trip to the beach, learning to fish in a river, fishing in a pond in the summer time? I spent all my youth in rivers and ponds catching fish and damming streams and had fun all summer long and came back every day with wet clothes and boots full of water. Since then, I have been in and out of wetlands all my life, and enjoyed them all.

This year, we are inviting people to think about their own wetlands story, and how they can help to stop this dramatic loss of wetlands. We would like you to visit our website or use our twitter hashtag “Wetlands For Our Future” to make a pledge to help wetlands and join thousands of people around the world who also want to reverse the trend. Your pledge can be as simple as taking shorter showers to save water, or making sure you take reusable bags to the supermarket, or getting more practically involved by helping to organise a clean-up of your local wetland.

Educating younger people is vital. We need to get the next generation engaged and knowledgeable on how important wetlands are and the more people know, the further we can spread the message.

This year, for young people between the ages of 15 and 24, we are running a photo competition in partnership with the Star Alliance. From today until the 3rd of March, visit a wetland, and take a picture there, for the chance to win a free flight anywhere in the world to visit a wetland site. All submissions to our site, www.worldwetlandsday.org will be voted on and the shortlisted finalists judged by a panel of experts including renowned UK landscape photographer Charlie Waite.
So join us this year, and take up the challenge to help secure Wetlands for all our Futures.

Happy World Wetlands Day.
Dr. Christopher Briggs, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention

 Press release 
 

 Key Facts 

Wetlands for Our Future: Act Now to Prevent, Stop, and Reverse Wetland Loss - See more at: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2818&ArticleID=11129&l=en#sthash.ZtYYMade.YvvmSzQI.dpuf
Wetlands for Our Future: Act Now to Prevent, Stop, and Reverse Wetland Loss - See more at: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2818&ArticleID=11129&l=en#sthash.ZtYYMade.YvvmSzQI.dpuf
Wetlands for Our Future: Act Now to Prevent, Stop, and Reverse Wetland Loss - See more at: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2818&ArticleID=11129&l=en#sthash.ZtYYMade.YvvmSzQI.dpuf

 Latest Tweets  #WetlandsForOurFuture
 
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Wednesday, 11 February 2015

World Radio Day 2015, February 13

Theme 2015 : " Youth and Radio "

 

 World Radio Day marks the anniversary of the first broadcast by UN Radio in 1946, when it transmitted its first call sign: "This is the United Nations calling the peoples of the world."

 

World Radio Day is about celebrating radio, why we love it and why we need it today more than ever. A day to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe. Join the celebration!

 

 



U N I T E D   N A T I O N S                                          N A T I O N S   U N I E S


THE SECRETARY- GENERAL
--
MESSAGE ON WORLD RADIO DAY
13 February 2015

On World Radio Day, we celebrate a medium that captures the imagination and brings people together. 

This year United Nations Radio, along with the United Nations, celebrates its 70th anniversary. Every year, United Nations Radio broadcasts over 1,200 documentaries, news items and editorials over the airwaves.

This year’s observance of World Radio Day highlights the importance of radio to the world’s 1.8 billion young women and men. 

Radio matters for youth across the world.

As the international community shapes new sustainable development goals and a new global agreement on climate change, we need to hear the voices young women and men, loudly, strongly and urgently.


 

Live global broadcast, exhibitions, demos, hackathon, debates, features highlight theme: Youth and Innovation in Radio.
World Radio Day will be marked at ITU in Geneva on 13 February. The event will be broadcast live around the world from 17:00 to 20:00 in the Popov Room in ITU’s Tower Building.
  • Date: 13 February 2015
  • Venue: ITU Headquarters, Geneva – Popov Hall
  • Theme: Youth and Innovation in Radio, in line with ITU's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2015
  • Programme
Tentative Programme of World Radio Day in Geneva: 13 February 2015

  • EBU RadioHack (hosted by ITU)
    In ICT Discovery. Kicks off 12 February 14:00 – 22:00; re-starts 13 February 08:00 – 14:00
  • 14:00  –  Invited guests tour exhibition in Popov Space​
  • 14:30  –  Technical session on radio and innovation + demos of devices + Hackathon Report
  • 16:55  –  Guests are seated in Popov Hall
  • 17:00  –  MC (BBC correspondent Imogen Foulkes) opens programme​
  • 17:05  –  Pre-recorded Feature: UN Radio at Work
  • 17:10  – Panel debate: ITU Secretary-General, UNESCO Deputy Director General, UNOG Director General, EBU Director General
  • 17:30  –  News desks around the world
  • 17:35  –  Broadcast of UNESCO radio feature on "Youth and Radio"
  • 17:40 –   Key findings of Hackathon and Demos of new trends in radio
  • 18:00  –  WRD Radio broadcast goes LIVE with time signal and BBC news
  • 18:05  –  ITU Feature on Radio and Innovation    
  • 18:25  –  Broadcast of radio feature produced by UN Radio
  • 18:30  –  News desks around the world
  • 18:45  –  Discussion on 'Video didn't kill the Radio – Internet will breathe new life into it'
  • 19:00  –  Live link to BBC programme: World Have Your Say
  • 19:10  –  UN Jazz Ensemble international World Radio Day Concert
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Thursday, 29 January 2015

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2015, January 27th

International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, January 27th.
Theme 2015 : “Liberty, Life and Legacy of the Holocaust Survivors”.

 Día Internacional de Conmemoración anual en memoria de las víctimas del Holocausto, 27 de Enero
«La libertad, la vida y el legado de los supervivientes del Holocausto»

  Международным днем памяти жертв Холокоста, 27 января.
 «Свобода, жизнь и наследие переживших Холокост»

 Journée internationale dédiée à la mémoire des victimes de l’Holocauste, 27 Janvier.
Thème : « Liberté, vie et héritage des survivants de l’Holocauste »

大屠杀与联合国外联方案, 1月27日.
 联合国缅怀大屠杀受难者国际纪念日
 
الجدول الزمني لفعاليات يوم ذكرى ضحايا الهولوكوست لعام 2015 “الحرية والحياة وتراث الناجين من المحرقة”




The Holocaust and the United Nations 10th Anniversary video
 The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme marks its 10th anniversary, highlighting its educational materials and activities held around the world.

About The United Nations Outreach Programme



 27 January 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz, including nearly 1 million Jews and tens of thousands of Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisonners of war and political opponents from all over Europe. This Remembrance Day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005 during the 42nd plenary session. The resolution came after a special session was held earlier that year on 24 January 2005 during which the United Nations General Assembly marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust.


At Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre. Exhibition Man and Catastrophe dedicated to the mass annihilation by Nazis of concentration camp inmates.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Army, Vladimir Putin visited the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre in Moscow.

The President saw the exhibition Man and Catastrophe dedicated to the mass annihilation by Nazis of concentration camp inmates. Accompanying him was the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar and the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda.
The UN General Assembly declared January 27 – the date when Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
* * *
Candlelight ceremony to commemorate Holocaust victims. With President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda. 

Speech at meeting at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre dedicated to the 70th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp and International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

During visit to Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre.

  During visit to Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre.


Speech at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN:

Friends,

70 years ago, Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp where the Nazis slaughtered millions of people. By the decision of the United Nations Organisation this day, January 27, was declared International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust – one of the deadliest crimes against humanity – has become a symbol of grief and pain, of unbridled cruelty and neglect for human life.
It is hard to imagine that real death factories, mass shootings and deportations were a reality of the 20th century, that they were organised in cold blood in what then seemed to be a civilised Europe. Yes, they were planned, organised in cold blood. We have now seen the exhibition that you have seen as well – this was a planned, deliberate operation to destroy people. Incredibly simple.
However, as history has shown wherever ideas of ethnic or racial supremacy are put into people’s heads and the seeds of inter-ethnic hatred are sown, wherever traditional human values are destroyed and trampled upon, civilisation is quickly and inevitably replaced with barbarity, while peace is replaced with cruel conflicts, war and aggression.
The Nazis threatened to enslave the peoples of our multi-ethnic state. They were to be either assimilated by force and turned into slaves or destroyed to create so-called living space for some ’higher race’.
According to the materials of the Nuremburg trials, six million Jews were killed in Europe during the Holocaust. These numbers are unfathomable. They did not die in battle, but were simply destroyed – burnt in furnaces or shot. Among those millions are hundreds of thousands of our compatriots.
Such crimes do not and should not have a term of limitation. They can be neither forgiven nor forgotten. Any attempts to hush up these events up, distort, ‘rewrite’ history are unacceptable and immoral.
Frequently such attempts cover up the desire to conceal one’s shameful behaviour – cowardice, hypocrisy and treason, and to justify one’s direct or indirect, silent collusion with the Nazis in implementing their criminal policy.
However, historical facts are irrefutable. Thus, they show that Banderites and other collaborationists and Hitler’s henchmen were themselves involved in the destruction of the Jewish people, in the destruction of Jews in Lvov, Odessa, Kiev and other Ukrainian towns and cities, while the Nazis in the Baltic states conducted ethnic cleansing in Vilnius and Riga, in Kaunas and Tallinn.
On this tragic day we honour the memory of all those who were tortured by the Nazis and their henchmen in concentration camps and ghettoes. We grieve for the millions who died in the flames of the bloodiest of wars in the history of humankind.
I would like to note that on the initiative of public and religious organisations, and not only Jewish organisations, Russia is conducting a search for and tending to mass burial grounds of Holocaust victims and we are recovering the names of those victims. This effort deserves special support and will definitely be continued.
Today we pay tribute to the courage of those who survived the horrors of occupation, violence and humiliating forced labour, those who survived these inhuman trials and remained unbroken.
In this connection, I cannot help recalling another date – today we mark the anniversary of the liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade. This was yet another example of the criminal massacre organised by the Nazis, who were destroying in cold blood the civilian population of Leningrad by bombing raids and direct artillery attacks.
We bow to the heroic feat of the Red Army officers and men who defeated Nazism and stopped the terrible annihilation machine. It was not only their Motherland that they protected from the aggressors. Their great liberation mission became a deed of honour for our entire people.
In this connection, I would like to say that as we have just recalled, Russians bore the brunt of the battle against Nazism. Seventy percent of all the Red Army officers and men were Russians, and the Russian people made the largest sacrifice in the name of victory.
However, here within the confines of the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre I would like to recall that Jewish citizens of the Soviet Union made an enormous contribution to the victory over our enemy. More than half a million Jews fought in the Red Army, over 40 thousand were members of partisan units. Almost a third of them (27 percent) were volunteers. Almost 200 thousand were killed in battles for their Fatherland.
The heroism of representatives of all ethnic groups, their selfless love for their homeland, their readiness for self-sacrifice will always remain in our memory, in the thankful memory of the peoples of Russia.
As we celebrate this year the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory we will again and again address words of our warmest gratitude to our dear veterans, including those present here, those who gave themselves for the freedom and independence of their Motherland.
Friends, as we pay tribute, we should look ahead into the future. Crimes similar to the Holocaust should not be repeated. This is our common duty and without exaggeration the most important and pressing task for the entire world community.
True, there has been significant change on the world arena in the past decades. However, we see that antihuman ideas are still alive.
We continue coming across attempts at dividing humankind on ethnic, racial or religious grounds and demonstrations of anti-Semitism, Russophobia and aggressive intolerance of other ethnic groups, cultures and traditions.
Nazis made use of these primitive instincts back in their times, while now they are used by neonationalists, extremists and terrorists in a number of countries and regions.
We have to counter these threats together, to protect the peace and freedom of the people together, defend the right of states and peoples to choose their own development path.
History has shown what terrible abyss claims at world supremacy could lead humanity to; what tragedy may result from attempts at putting pressure on sovereign states or failure to respect their rights.
We all know how dangerous and destructive double standards and indifference to others may be. Take, for instance, the current tragedy in the southeast of Ukraine, where the peaceful population of Donetsk, Lugansk and other towns and cities have been shot for months in cold blood.
I would like to repeat that today, in the 21st century it is important to enhance the efficiency of the collective security system and to promote the values of humanism and cooperation and to always bear in mind the lessons we learn from history.
In conclusion, dear friends, I cannot help sharing my own impressions of the film we saw. Of course, we all know about those death camps and we often use such words as antihuman and crime, and we know what Holocaust is about. However, as how cruel as this may sound – sometimes these words are abused and lose their initial meaning.
And when you see such documentary evidence it all comes back with renewed force. One tends to realise what we had to deal with, what humanity and people had to deal with back then. We honour all those who died and all those who put an end to this massacre.

Thank you.

Forum : International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust -27 January

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