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NEWTOWNARDS, Northern Ireland -- Dr Christopher Stange, Hon. Consul of St Vincent and the Grenadines to Northern Ireland and acting chair of the African Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland (ACSONI), read the ‘Statement of Commitment’, from the Declaration of the Stockholm Forum on Holocaust Education, on behalf of the Caribbean and African Diaspora in Northern Ireland.

Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27 is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and of the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The theme for 2013, chosen by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, is “Build a Bridge – Communities Together”.

The commemoration was held at the Queen’s Hall, Newtownards, Northern Ireland.

The ceremony concluded by lighting a candle of remembrance, a Hebrew prayer for the repose of souls of the departed sung by Cantor Schulman and read in English by Gerald Steinberg.

Stange commented: "I would like to commend the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for this annual event which serves as a stark reminder to all of us of the evils of discrimination and prejudice if left unchecked. Tonight is a reminder to continue to stand firm against discrimination."

Holocaust Memorial Day in Northern Ireland was initiated in 2000 to remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and to raise awareness and understanding of the events of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides as a continuing issue for all humanity.

The date, 27 January, was chosen as it was the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.

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