International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Nairobi

UNIC Nairobi in partnership with the Israeli Embassy in Kenya brought together over 300 students from more than 10 Kenyan Universities and over 50 diplomats accredited to UNEP and UN Habitat to commemorate the 2019 International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the United Nations Offices at Nairobi (UNON). The theme of the event was “Demand and defend your human rights”.

Acting UNON Director-General and Executive Director UNHabitat, Ms. Maimunah Mohd Shariff  read the UN Secretary-General’s statement at a somber ceremony where six candles were lit at the start of the event. “We must ensure that we fight against all forms of discrimination and intolerance to create a more unified and peaceful world,” she said.

All attending received a white rose that were all laid at the dais representing a wreath in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

The German Ambassador, H.E Annett Günther, the Israeli Ambassador, H.E Noah Gal Gendler  and  Dr. Isaac Rutenberg, Senior Lecturer and Director of Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (CIPIT) representing Kenya’s Jewish Community spoke at the event to give perspective of what we should learn from the horrors and tragedies out of the Second World War. The Kenyan Ambassador to UNON, Ms. Rose Makena spoke on behalf of the Kenyan Government to conclude the first phase of the event.

The second phase was led by the Israel Deputy Ambassador, Eyal David and moderated by UNIC Deputy Director, Mr. Newton Kanhema following screening of a 20 minutes documentary entitled “The Final Solution” that was followed by an hour of intense interactive session.

The German Ambassador, H.E Annett Günther, Dr. Isaac Rutenberg, Senior Lecturer and Director of Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (CIPIT) representing Kenya’s Jewish Community and Israel Deputy Ambassador joined the highly informative discussion. Students from various campuses asked relevant questions that were competently and comprehensively answered by the three distinguished diplomats backed up by Ambassadors representing Russia and European Union in Kenya respectively.

The Israeli embassy and UNIC mounted an exhibition which was on display for a week. The event was well attended and all expressed satisfaction with the organization and the proceeding thereof.

To see more photos of the day click Here