Opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony 2025 - International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
---------
UN chief said, “The history of the Holocaust shows us what can happen when people choose not to see and not to act.”
Addressing the annual ceremony in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust today (27 jan), Secretary-General António Guterres said, “I want to acknowledge that more than a year has passed since the appalling 7th October terror attacks by Hamas. We welcome, at long last, the ceasefire and hostage release deal. The deal offers hope, as well as much needed relief. The United Nations will do our utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
He also said, “The responsibility belongs to every one of us. Remembrance is not only a moral act. Remembrance is a call to action. To allow the Holocaust to fade from memory would dishonour the past and betray the future.”
He continued, “Hatred is being stirred-up across the globe. One of the clearest and most troubling examples is the spreading cancer of Holocaust denial. Indisputable historical facts are being distorted, diminished, and dismissed. Efforts are being made to recast and rehabilitate Nazis and their collaborators. We must stand up to these outrages.”
Philémon Yang, President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly said, “We must never forget that the Holocaust did not begin in the gas chambers; it began in the minds of people, fueled by hate speech, propaganda, and systemic discrimination.”
Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, said, “On this historic day, we must commit to joining hands to defeat darkness and hatred, and work together to ensure the building of a shared future. This is the vow we must share, all of us, the family of nations: That what happened once, will never happen again.”
Dumitru Miclescu, Roma survivor of the Holocaust stated, “Even today, in Romania, people do not know this history. Instead of calling it the genocide in Transnistria, they refer to it as the deportations from Transnistria. I want to be clear: what we lived through was a genocide—mass killings and injustice. Just because we were born Roma or Jewish.”
---------
UN chief said, “The history of the Holocaust shows us what can happen when people choose not to see and not to act.”
Addressing the annual ceremony in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust today (27 jan), Secretary-General António Guterres said, “I want to acknowledge that more than a year has passed since the appalling 7th October terror attacks by Hamas. We welcome, at long last, the ceasefire and hostage release deal. The deal offers hope, as well as much needed relief. The United Nations will do our utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
He also said, “The responsibility belongs to every one of us. Remembrance is not only a moral act. Remembrance is a call to action. To allow the Holocaust to fade from memory would dishonour the past and betray the future.”
He continued, “Hatred is being stirred-up across the globe. One of the clearest and most troubling examples is the spreading cancer of Holocaust denial. Indisputable historical facts are being distorted, diminished, and dismissed. Efforts are being made to recast and rehabilitate Nazis and their collaborators. We must stand up to these outrages.”
Philémon Yang, President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly said, “We must never forget that the Holocaust did not begin in the gas chambers; it began in the minds of people, fueled by hate speech, propaganda, and systemic discrimination.”
Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, said, “On this historic day, we must commit to joining hands to defeat darkness and hatred, and work together to ensure the building of a shared future. This is the vow we must share, all of us, the family of nations: That what happened once, will never happen again.”
Dumitru Miclescu, Roma survivor of the Holocaust stated, “Even today, in Romania, people do not know this history. Instead of calling it the genocide in Transnistria, they refer to it as the deportations from Transnistria. I want to be clear: what we lived through was a genocide—mass killings and injustice. Just because we were born Roma or Jewish.”
- Category
- United Nations
- Tags
- UN, United Nations, UNGA

Be the first to comment