UN human rights chief Volker Turk warns of rising antisemitism and dehumanisation, calling for education and vigilance to safeguard the future.
GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief has called for the world to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and reject hatred and dehumanisation.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk issued the statement ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
He said the genocide of millions of Jews and other minorities by the Nazi regime provides “striking lessons” for today.
“It is difficult to fathom that within living memory, a group of deluded killers inflicted unspeakable atrocities,” Turk stated.
He emphasised that the systematic cruelty occurred not in darkness but in the “broad daylight of a supposedly modern society”.
Turk warned that the genocide began with apathy and the “corrosive dehumanisation of the other”.
He highlighted a disturbing trend of sharply rising threats and assaults against Jews in recent years.
“Hatred and dehumanisation are creeping into our daily lives, including through our social media feeds,” he cautioned.
The rights chief insisted people today are equipped with memory, education, and human rights law to prevent history’s repetition.
These tools must be used “against the plague of racism, antisemitism, and dehumanisation”, he said.
Turk stressed that education about the Holocaust and human rights remains vital for safeguarding the future.
“Above all, we must stand up for our shared humanity – each and every day,” he concluded.