Djuric: Serbia will continue to support the work of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric stated today, at the ceremony marking the beginning of Israel’s one-year presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), that Serbia is committed to the work of this organization, which has done much over the decades to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and ensure that new generations do not forget what happened more than 80 years ago.

In this context, the minister recalled that in January of this year, he represented Serbia at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

"Auschwitz was the most horrific Nazi camp, where numerous innocent victims, mostly Jews, suffered and were brutally murdered during World War II. I am glad that, through the work of the IHRA, we have ensured that schools worldwide educate young generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and the dangers of Nazism and other totalitarian ideologies," Djuric said at the event held at the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade.

According to him, this year will also mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Jasenovac concentration camp, which he described as the largest and most terrifying camp in this part of Europe, where Serbs, Jews, Roma, and members of other nations were murdered in the cruelest ways.

Djuric reiterated that Serbia will continue to support the work of the IHRA, reminding that, on the initiative of the government and President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia has resolved key issues, such as the restitution of property to Holocaust victims, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

The minister also said that even today, the Jewish people continue to suffer, with hostages still held captive by Hamas, undergoing treatment comparable in cruelty to the darkest moments in human history.

"I wish to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Republic of Serbia and myself, to make the strongest possible call for the immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza, including Alon Ohel, the Serbian-Israeli hostage who has been in captivity for a long time," Djuric emphasized.

At the reception at the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Israeli Ambassador Avivit Bar Ilan and British Ambassador Edward Ferguson also addressed the attendees, as Israel took over the IHRA presidency from the United Kingdom.