Remembering the Shoah: The ICRC and the international community's efforts in responding to genocide and protecting civilians

As 2015 marks the 70th year since the liberation of the Nazi camps in Europe, the ICRC organized, in conjunction with the World Jewish Congress, a commemorative event at the Humanitarium on April 28th.

The panel discussion commemorated the end of the Shoah,  reflected on the ICRC's failure to react vigorously to the persecution of victims of the Third Reich, and shared lessons learned by the ICRC and the international community in terms of the development of legal and political tools to prevent and respond to large-scale killings. It provided a forward-looking perspective on the international community's efforts to protect civilians and prevent atrocities in the future.

The evening opened with keynote speeches by Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC, and Ronald S. Lauder, President of the WJC. (Read Peter Maurer's full speech)

It was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Robert Singer, CEO of the WJC, featuring the following speakers:

• Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC
• Deborah Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies, Emory University, Atlanta
• James Orbinski, former MSF International President and Professor of medicine, University of Toronto*

*Dr. Orbinski's participation was sponsored by Global Speakers Agency (GSA), one of North America's original speakers bureaus.

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GSA's mission is to be a catalyst for new ideas by connecting the client with speakers who inspire, inform and engage. Speakers working with GSA include Lt. Gen Romeo Dallaire (Ret) (Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda), Amanda Lindhout (Founder of The Global Enrichment Foundation), and Stephen Lewis (Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa).

An exhibition on the subject of the ICRC and the Shoah, showcasing relevant material from the ICRC archives, was launched on the occasion of the conference. It will be displayed at the Humanitarium until June 15.

Related topic

• 150 Years of Humanitarian Action
• The ICRC and the Second World War
• The ICRC and the detainees in Nazi concentration camps (1942–1945), Article, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 888, by Sébastien Farré
• The ICRC in WW II: The Holocaust
• ICRC: Protecting civilians
• 1949 Conventions and Additional Protocols, and their Commentaries