The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document PC.DEL/85/20 and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE 31 January 2020 Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions, OSCE+ as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States. ENGLISH Original: RUSSIAN

Delegation of

STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT DELEGATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS TO THE OSCE AT THE 1257th MEETING OF THE OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL

30 January 2020

On the commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Mr. Chairperson,

We join our colleagues in welcoming the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Ambassador Georges Santer, and thank him for his informative presentation.

On 27 January, the whole world paid tribute to the victims of tragedy.

In Belarus, commemorative events, requiems, mourning ceremonies, flower-laying at memorials and thematic exhibitions traditionally take place on this day. Moreover, the victims of the ghettos and death camps established in the occupied Belorussian territories are also remembered in schools.

During the Second World War, Belorussia experienced all the horrors of Hitler’s genocide: the occupying forces set up over 260 concentration camps and sites of mass extermination on our soil, including more than 70 Jewish ghettos. Eight hundred thousand Belorussian Jews were exterminated solely because of their national identity.

Having lost almost one in three compatriots during the war, the Belarusian people have never separated the grief of the Jewish people from their own sorrow: the Holocaust became our common tragedy.

We are proud of those Belarusians who saved thousands of Jews from imminent death during the war at the risk of their own lives. Over 700 Belarusians have been awarded the title “Righteous Among the Nations” for their heroism.

The Belarusian State is making systematic efforts to immortalize the memory of the . New memorials are being unveiled in the country, including those supported by Jewish public organizations, in addition to the more than 500 monuments already in existence. For example, in March 2019, a monument known as the “Massif of Names”, dedicated to the Jews of Austria who were exterminated by the Nazis in the Maly Trostenets death camp near , was unveiled at the camp’s memorial complex. The event was attended by the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. We thank the distinguished Ambassador Santer for his positive assessment of our efforts.

PCOEW8232 Translation by OSCE Language Services - 2 - PC.DEL/85/20 31 January 2020

Mr. Chairperson,

In his message to the participants in the recent forum of world leaders in Jerusalem dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the President of Belarus stressed:

“Today it is our common duty to preserve and pass on from generation to generation the truth about the most terrible and destructive war of the twentieth century, about the sacrifices made on the altar of victory, about the courage and great feat of the peoples affected by fascism. This truth is particularly relevant against the backdrop of increasing attempts to rewrite the history of the war, to deny the Holocaust and to whitewash the crimes of the Third Reich up to the glorification of the executioners and their accomplices.

“We must see to it that future generations are steered away from the path of military aggression, nationalist hostility and genocide.”

We should like to take this opportunity to welcome the decision of the Albanian Chairmanship to devote its first human dimension event to the fight against anti-Semitism, thus continuing the practice of the Chairmanships over recent years.

We are convinced that the forthcoming OSCE conference in Tirana on combating anti-Semitism will be another important step in preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and preventing history from tragically repeating itself.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.