News

At the Conference on Addressing Anti-Semitism in the OSCE region, convened by the OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia in Skopje on 6-7 February 2023, Mr. Arvydas Daunoravičius, Ambassador-at-large for the Holocaust remembrance issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, condemned Russia’s abuse of the argument of the fight against Nazism in its attempt to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine. “It is a distortion of history and a deep disrespect for the victims of the Holocaust”, - stressed A. Daunoravičius. He also noted that the ongoing Russia’s war against Ukraine and atrocity crimes Russia is committing made it painfully clear that hatred and cruelty does not disappear anywhere by itself.

Underscoring the need for all countries to do their utmost to fight all forms of antisemitism, Holocaust denial and distortion, Ambassador A. Daunoravičius reviewed Lithuania’s achievements in this regard.

Attention was drawn to steps taken by the Lithuanian Government to renew educational curricula of the history of the Holocaust to promote critical thinking and a more accurate understanding of the consequences of antisemitism. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) recommendations played an important role in developing this new curricula. Ambassador also announced the news that two new museums devoted to the preservation of the historical memory and heritage of the Lithuania’s Jews are being planned. 

Ambassador Daunoravičius shared information about measures taken by Lithuania to restore historical justice. He noted the recent amendments of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Good Will Compensation for the Immovable Property of Jewish Religious Communities to provide a monetary compensation for the private realty of Lithuanian Jews that was nationalized or illegally expropriated by the Nazi and Soviet totalitarian regimes.

The annual OSCE Conference on Addressing Anti-Semitism gathered together government representatives, relevant stakeholders from international organisations, academia, civil society organisations, as well as leaders of Jewish communities to discuss challenges and good practices in addressing Anti-Semitism.