Moldova participates at meeting of international alliance of memory of Holocaust in Geneva

Chisinau, 30 June /MOLDPRES/ – A Moldovan delegation headed by Ion Stavila, Ambassador with special missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, participated in the plenary meeting of the International Alliance for the Holocaust Remembrance (IAHR), which held its works during the 26-29 June 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. The delegation also included representatives of the Education Ministry, the Bureau of Interethnic Relations, the Jewish community and the academic environment, the Foreign and European Integration Ministry’s information and media communication service has reported.

At the meeting, the Moldovan delegation reported on the activities that had been carried out to study and cultivate the Holocaust memory in Moldova. In particular, the Government's recent approval of the Action Plan for 2017-2019 on implementation of the Declaration of the Parliament of Moldova on the acceptance of the final report of the International Commission on the Study of the Holocaust, chaired by Elie Wiesel.

The Moldovan delegation leader thanked all international organizations and external partners for their valuable contribution to the elaboration of that plan and reiterated the request for further support in order to implement the established objectives. On it, he mentioned especially the contribution of the IAHR, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE mission to Moldova, the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania and the Council of Europe.

However, the IAHR leadership greatly appreciated the objectives set out in the Action Plan, mainly those concerning the educational system, the propagation of the Holocaust memory and the scientific research of the phenomenon. The Alliance and its member states were reiterated to continue to provide Moldova with the necessary support. Also, it was stressed the importance of solving the problems related to the former synagogue Rabbi Tirilson, so that the Jewish Community of Moldova could benefit from that edifice.

Note: The International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance (IAHR) is an intergovernmental organization created in 2000, the constitution of which is the Stockholm Declaration. The purpose of this organization is to promote the research, education and cultivation, both nationally and internationally, of the memory of the victims of genocide against Jews during the Second World War. Currently, the IAHR comprises 31 Member States and 11 States with observer status. Moldova acceded to the IAHR as an observer in December 2014. The organization is chaired by Switzerland in 2017.