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	Participants Countries and organizations Conference documentation Conference programme				Written Message by the Albanian Delegation Written Message by the Republic of Belarus Written Message by the Belgian Delegation Written Message by the Brazilian Delegation Written Message by the Canadian Delegation Written Message by the Republic of Chile Written Message by the Croatian Delegation Written Message by the European Commission Written Message by the Foreign Minister of Greece, George Papandreou Written Message by the Delegation of the Holy See Written Message by the Delegation of the State of Israel Written Message by the Republic of Poland Written Message by the Turkish Delegation Written Message by the Republic of Romania Written Message by UNESCO Written Message by the United Nations Written Message by the Uruguayan Delegation Written Message by the Uruguayan Delegation Written Message by the Uruguayan Delegation Uruguay is honored to have been invited to the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, since it is a country that has made tolerance and peace the fundamental pillars of its legal and political structure and an essential feature of its national identity. This comes from far back in the country’s history. Indeed, the founder of the Uruguayan nation, General Jose Artigas , in the midst of the war against the colonial power at the beginning of the 19th. Century, and before the country had attained its independence, already adhered to the principle of religious freedom, (by stating that “religious freedom shall be promoted to the greatest degree imaginable”) when this concept was certainly not accepted by Spain, or even by the emerging governing classes. Nevertheless, religious freedom, the overall concept of freedom of conscience and the spirit of tolerance became deeply imbedded in our society. It was precisely the existence of this environment which led to the arrival to a now independent Uruguay of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from all over the world during the latter part of the 19th century and the beginning of the past century, to the degree that when asked where Uruguayans “descended” from it was commonly answered that Uruguayans “descend” from boats. The Jews were part of these immigratory waves and the Uruguayan Jewish community became over the years one of the most numerous and active in Latin America. It is estimated that in the early 50’s there was a thriving community of over 60.000 Jews in Uruguay with synagogues, community cemeteries, schools, social and sports clubs, philanthropic associations, social centers, libraries, community financial institutions, etc. They became and are today full fledged members of our society and occupy high positions in all walks of life, although the Jewish community decreased in number during the sixties and seventies because many emigrated due to both economic and political reasons. Uruguay, however, is no “ivory tower” country immune from what occurs in the rest of the world. The country suffered the impact and the consequences of the worldwide depression of the thirties and the influence of the totalitarian movements of the times. The Spanish “falangista” movement, Italian fascism and German Nazism found some adepts in our country. This, combined with other negative factors, mainly the fear that the immigrants from Eastern Europe would bring with them “subversive” ideologies and life styles and habits that would destroy the characteristics of Uruguayan society, led to restrictive immigration regulations and a reluctance of many people in the country to the increasing presence of “Russians” (as Jews were popularly referred to in those days) in our society. However, Jewish immigration from Germany, Austria and other Western European countries increased and a strong German Jewish community was created precisely during the middle and late thirties. The “problem” was poor “Eastern” Jews and this explains the attitude of the Uruguayan authorities of the time, who did not act too generously with regard to the requests for visas for Jewish immigrants from East European countries. All this changed after Second World War. It is as if Uruguayan society had gone through a soul searching process which put behind it most of the biases and prejudices it could have generated during the thirties. Uruguay’s decisive role in the creation of the State of Israel and its overall support to all Jewish causes over time (including the plight of Soviet Jews, some of whom were able to leave the Soviet Union due to the action of the Uruguayan Committee for the Defense of Soviet Jewry), led the American Jewish Committee, in a touching ceremony in Washington in 1998 in the presence of the Prime Minister of Israel and of Uruguay’s President, to publicly recognize Uruguay, together with Costa Rica, for its support of Israel and Jewish causes. Uruguay was one the first countries to challenge the United Nations General Assembly decision equating Zionism to racism and spear headed the effort to revoke it. Uruguay was the first Latin American country to inaugurate a monument in memory of the Holocaust of the Jewish People and to issue a commemorative stamp which is still in circulation today. There is a public monument in the memory of Golda Meir and the relations between Israel and Uruguay could not be better. As important as the former, is the feeling of the Jewish Community of Uruguay that Jews are an integral part of Uruguayan society and feel equal, secure and free in its midst. In addition, in 1989 the Uruguayan Congress reformed the Criminal Code to include a provision which expressly defines as a felony, subject to imprisonment, any public incitement to the hatred, despise or any form of moral or physical violence against one or more persons for reasons of the color of their skin, race, religion, national or ethnic origin. This provision has been used in a recent case to prosecute and arrest a small group of neo Nazis who were using the Internet to promote anti Jewish messages. In sum, Uruguay is a democratic country in which the concepts of equality, tolerance and respect for all are essential features of our society and belong to our national identity. However, as said above, we are not immune to what occurs in the world and we are alert to anything that may tend to destroy or weaken the basic and fundamental principles on which our society is built. >> Back to top				Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches Plenary Sessions: Messages and speeches Plenary Session 1 Plenary Session 2 Reception at the Stockholm City Hall Written Messages Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declaration Other Activities
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