27th January 2025
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day – the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The theme for the day is “For a Better Future”.
On this pivotal day in 1945, a gleam of light appeared in the darkest place on earth. And, in the years that followed, that light grew brighter as good people around the world worked to try to ensure that the horrors of Auschwitz were never repeated.
The development of international human rights standards, most notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was the product of that global effort.
The Universal Declaration was for a better future.
It recognised that “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind”.
And it laid the foundations of a better world “in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want”.
Today, human dignity and fundamental rights are under attack from many quarters. If we want a better future, we will once again have to work for it.
Today, René Cassin remembers the unspeakable horrors uncovered at Auschwitz 80 years ago.
Tomorrow, as the charity named after the Universal Declaration’s Jewish co-author, we will redouble our efforts to remind the world of its blueprint for a better future.
