ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC

Draft Resolution No. 62 /XI

Enshrines the January 27 as Holocaust Memory Day

Exhibition of reasons

Considering that the Holocaust was a historic event that questions

radically all the values on which it rests on human civilization: respect

by life, the equality and dignity of all human beings, compassion and

fraternity, the responsibility for the other, individual and collective freedom;

Considering that the Holocaust, by resulting in the murder of a third of the people

Jewish, as well as from countless members of other minorities, will forever be a

warning to all peoples in the face of the dangers of hatred, intolerance, racism and the

prejudice;

Considering that memory and reflection on the Holocaust are the best means for

not only do we understand the roots of prejudice and racism in our societies,

to reflect on individual and collective responsibility, as well as the

dangers of remaining silent or indifferent to oppression, to abuses of power

and the violations of human rights;

Considering that, in more than half a century after the end of the Second Great War,

our societies have profoundly changed and a significant part of

European population is from countries where the relationship with the Holocaust is

far-away or non-existent;

Considering that they succeeded and continue to succeed violent conflicts, massacres

and genocides, which require us to be a learning in the face of the lessons of the past, of

way to identify the signs of the tragedy;

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Considering that the memory of the Holocaust obliges us to a permanent

surveillance in the face of racism, ethnic cleansing, anti-Semitism and xenophobia;

Considering that Portugal has approved Resolution 60/7, of the United Nations, at 1 of

November 2005, which designates the January 27 as the International Day in

Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust;

Considering that Portugal signed the Stockholm Declaration of 2000,

assuming her commitment stemming from promoting memory, education and the

research on the Holocaust;

Considering the Resolution adopted by the European Parliament, in 2005, on the

memory of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and racism, setting the day 27 of

January as the European Day of Memory of the Holocaust;

Considering still that Portugal is, since June 2009, observer member of the

ITF-International Task Force for Memory, Education and Research on the

Holocaust;

The undersigned Deputies present the following draft resolution:

The Assembly of the Republic resolves, in accordance with Article 156 (b) of the

Constitution of the Portuguese Republic:

1-Associate with the international commemoration remembering and honoring the

memory the victims who perished;

2-Assuming the commitment to promote memory and education about the

Holocaust in schools and universities, in our communities and others

institutions, so that future generations can understand the causes of the

Holocaust and reflect on its consequences;

3-reaffirm the common aspiration of humanity to a justice and understanding

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mutual in such a way as to prevent future acts of genocide.

Palace of Saint Benedict, January 18, 2010

The Deputies