North Macedonia takes step forward towards full membership of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

A plenary meeting in Luxembourg of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) has agreed to raise the status of the Republic of North Macedonia from observer status to liaison country, a step towards full membership, a statement by North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry said.

IHRA unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance and to uphold the commitments to the 2000 Stockholm Declaration. As of December 2019, it has 34 full member countries.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry said that its delegation, led by ambassador Jovan Tegovski, national co-ordinator for the IHRA, presented the country’s application, outlining the results and activities in the areas of Holocaust remembrance, education and research in North Macedonia.

“The application was very positively evaluated by the IHRA member states and the highest ratings were given for the efforts and activities carried out in these areas,” the ministry said.

In accordance with IHRA rules, applicants are assigned full member states as mentors. In the case of the Republic of North Macedonia, these will be Greece and Austria.

The Foreign Ministry in Skopje said that IHRA is taking on an increasing role internationally and is a strong institutional mechanism in dealing with the increasing prevalence of antisemitism, denial and distortion of the Holocaust, hate speech, discrimination, xenophobia and racism.

IHRA’s member countries include EU member states, among them Bulgaria, as well as the United States, Israel, Canada, Argentina, Australia and others.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry said that the raising of the country’s status in IHRA is an acknowledgment of the policies of the government and its engagement in the area of ​​Holocaust remembrance, education and research, the fight against antisemitism, Holocaust denial and other forms of human rights abuses.

(Photo: Foreign Ministry of the Republic of North Macedonia)

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