This Conference is a demonstration of hope. Although it deals with the past, it aims to shape our future. What does this past have to tell, retell and teach us? First and foremost, how very fragile humanity is, in every sense of the word. The horrors of the Shoah, the atrocities suffered and inflicted and the fates of the victims must live on in our memories. This essential process of remembering goes hand in hand with the equally essential one of asking questions. How could such things happen? What sequence of active and passive collusion culminated in such deeds?

How could silence, lack of moral courage, blindness and long-standing prejudices make this unprecedented crime possible? The states represented here today are resolved to tackle this process of questioning together, in the awareness that it calls for complex answers. To do this, each country must consent to scrutinize its history in depth – a process which involves its citizens, shedding light on their own actions and reactions. This exercise in coming to terms with the past has to be part of a wider debate worthy of the democratic principles in the name of which we want history to be known, vigilance intensified and lessons learnt. That is what we in Switzerland wanted when we gave a very broad remit to our Independent Commission of Experts on the Second World War, headed by Professor Jean- François Bergier, which has already published two reports with more to follow. These efforts in each country are necessary so we can join forces to put a determined stop to racism, intolerance and discrimination against whole groups in our societies, and to prevent the resurgence of deliberate, organized violence.

Action for the future – this is where education plays a key role. We must focus ceaselessly on how best to link the teaching of history to awareness of the fight against intolerance and racism. Responsibility for this lies just as much with governments as with teachers. Young people should not complete their schooling without learning why and how exclusion and racism undermine democracy and in the long run comprehensively destroy society.

International exchanges of experience in education and comparison of the results achieved help to improve and develop our teaching resources. In Switzerland, we have taken practical action to ensure life-long learning for teachers and to develop teaching tools. Initial feedback shows that anti- Semitism and the Shoah must not be taught in Isolation, but explained in the light of topical events and linked to modern-day xenophobia and racism. The objective is to promote tolerance and the respect of human dignity – topics which must be addressed in parallel in several disciplines, such as history, literature or philosophy.

Another area must be at the heart of international cooperation against racism, anti-Semitism and incitement to violence – the Internet. The Worldwide Web is becoming an increasingly important source of information for personal education and training. But unfortunately, the Internet is also a cross-border vector for racist theories and the fomentation of hatred and discrimination. Worse still, the Web enables those who support such ideas to network and promote their products, books and so-called “scientific” and other reports by means of e-commerce, or even to coordinate their subversive activities. Only close international cooperation can take a stand against this source and its use by designing the appropriate preventive and legal instruments.

A seminar of international experts is scheduled For the 16 th to the18 th of February in Geneva, as part of preparations for the World Conference on Racism. In the light of past experience and of a review of national practices, one of its priority objectives will be to develop recommendations for the World Conference about the action to be taken worldwide to counter racism on the Internet. This seminar will address prevention while looking into how the Internet can also be used to fight the dissemination of racism and intolerance. Many practical measures and many joint actions are needed to keep us constantly alert to the threat of hatred and the negation of human dignity, so we can spot them and win the struggle against them.

Switzerland is firmly committed to pursuing this course of action.