Foreign Ministry's message: Dramatic episode of Holocaust remains lesson of national and universal history

The dramatic episode of the Holocaust remains a lesson of national and universal history that should never be forgotten, in the current international context, marked by the rise in intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) states. MAE reminds, 75 years since the release of the prisoners from the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, that "Romania has made significant efforts in the last fifteen years, internally and at European level, in terms of assuming the past, condemning the denial of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism." "On the occasion of the commemorative date of January 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pays tribute to the memory of the more than six million victims who lost their lives in the Holocaust," the cited source shows. On this day "Romania expresses its solidarity with the survivors of the Second World War atrocities". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that the promotion and protection of diversity, human rights and fundamental freedoms is the essential condition for the construction and development of any democratic society. It also reaffirms Romania's commitment to strengthening the legal and institutional instruments that prevent and sanction anti-Semitism and any forms of racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and intolerance. According to Resolution 60/7 of 2005 of the UN General Assembly, each year, January 27, marks the international commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust. On January 27, 1945, the prisoners from Auschwitz - Birkenau camp were released. During the period March 2016 - March 2017, Romania exercised the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and during its term the working definition of anti-Semitism was adopted, a remarkable achievement of the IHRA. At national level, a special law was adopted in 2018 to combat anti-Semitism, thus strengthening the legislative framework in this area, and in 2019 the law setting up the National Museum of Jewish History and of the Holocaust in Romania was adopted. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Simona Klodnischi)