The Brazilian Government is honoured to have been invited by Sweden and the members of the Task Force for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research to take part in this Forum. The Brazilian delegation is ready to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Forum and the definition of effective pedagogical measures to combat racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism and all other forms of discrimination. We believe that the role of political, religious and civil society leadership in Holocaust education is of great importance and should be highlighted.

The time is ripe for holding this Forum. Since the 1992 World Conference on Human Rights we witness a globalization of human rights following the consensual acknowledgement that governments must respond to the legitimate concern of the international community with the protection and promotion of human rights. International meetings for discussing in a comprehensive manner the complexity of issues having an impact on human rights such as this Forum on the Holocaust contribute to achieving the goals of the Vienna Conference, which is not the end but only a step further in the process inaugurated by the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Recent events point to the imperious necessity of deploying renewed efforts to combat intolerance. Intimidation, persecution and racial and ethical conflicts are still a great obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights.

Public opinion must be granted full access to official documents and all relevant data concerning the horrors of the Holocaust. The present generations have a legitimate right and the governments have the duty to facilitate the accession to historical sources as a means to keep alive in humankind’s conscience the need to protect human rights.

The Brazilian government considers that compensation to the Holocaust victims is a priority. Compensation in this context will always be insufficient but its symbolic value cannot be overestimated. Assistance to the victims is as important as the punishment of those responsible for their suffering. We must acknowledge that the post-war strives in this sense have been unsatisfactory in spite of their merits and the positive results attained so far in some countries. It is totally unacceptable that until today survivors of the Holocaust remain without compensation for the violations and humiliation they endured.

The Brazilian government and society follow with keen interest the work of this Forum, according to our tradition of abhorrence of intolerance and the promotion of political, cultural and religious pluralism. Brazil is at ease to condemn anti-Semitism and xenophobia because of our history, the character of our people, the contribution of the Jewish, including refugees, to the formation of Brazilian society, and the fact that an expeditionary force fought Nazism in European soil at the cost of many Brazilian lives.

Brazil expects that this Forum, the first major international conference of the new millennium, will succeed in planting the seeds of a better future amidst the soil of a bitter past, according to the very appropriate wording of the Declaration we agreed upon. The Brazilian government and the Brazilian people fully support all initiatives towards attaining the common aspiration of mankind for mutual understanding and justice.