Kozhara urges intensify efforts to combat intolerance

On the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, OSCE сhairperson-in-office, Ukrainian foreign minister Leonid Kozhara, urged to intensify efforts to combat intolerance, discrimination and hate crimes, the Foreign Ministry press service informs.

"This day is a sad reminder of the horrible crime, committed against innocent people. Only in Ukraine more than a hundred thousand people were murdered at Babi Yar, including thirty four thousand Jews, who were massively shot," Kozhara said.

"Today, we pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to those brave people, who risked their lives to save Jews and other nationalities from death. We must not forget the universal lessons from these terrible events. We need to redouble our efforts to prevent and combat intolerance, hatred and discrimination in all its forms, to assert respect for all ethnic and religious groups," the minister said. 

 

Kozhara said that education of young people in the field of human rights, above all, on tolerance and non-discrimination issues, is a priority for Ukraine's OSCE chairmanship in 2013.

According to recently released data by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 26 OSCE participating States recognized 27 January as the Holocaust Remembrance Day.