The Chairman and member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic, will participate in the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and the Fight against Anti-Semitism, which will be organized in Sweden on October 13.
The gathering, to be held in Malmö, will be attended by heads of state or government from 40 countries, researchers, experts, representatives of civil society, international organizations and social media companies such as Facebook, Google and TikTok.
The aim of the forum is to jointly take concrete steps forward in working on Holocaust remembrance and the fight against anti-Semitism. The program will focus on four basic topics, namely “Holocaust Remembrance”, “Holocaust Education”, “Anti-Semitism on Social Networks” and “Fighting Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Racism in All Spheres of Life”.
The organizers of the forum want to point out the fact that there are fewer and fewer Holocaust witnesses who can testify about these horrors, which is why the speakers will address the consequences of such a situation at the introductory plenary session.
The international community has an obligation to ensure that the Holocaust is remembered and that future generations understand the causes and the process that led to it, and that they can consider its consequences so that it does not happen again, the organizers said.
In addition to Komsic and Dzaferovic, the forum will be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council of the European Union President Charles Michel, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder and European Roma Forum President Miranda Vuolasranta. Among the registered participants are Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Northern Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski and other presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.
Organizers emphasize that the Holocaust was driven by hatred of Jews. However, this did not only affect the Jews but the whole society. Anti-Semitism is a concern for society as a whole and can be a symptom of undermining democracy.
“Contemporary anti-Semitism, anti-gypsism and other forms of racism and intolerance exist in many forms and thrive in different contexts. Wherever we see it, we must react and act,” the organizers said.
As they announced, the final plenary session will focus on action, steps forward to ensure the implementation of the promises made at the forum, and to join forces in strengthening the work on Holocaust remembrance and the fight against anti-Semitism and other forms of racism.
