The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lusaka together with United Nations Youth Association of Zambia (YUNA) hosted the third International Day in of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust at the University of Zambia on 28 January.  A candlelight vigil was held and a local a cappella group provided music.  More than 150 people attended the colorful ceremony.

At a ceremony organized by the UN DPI Office in Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Youth and Sport, in partnership with the Western University, representatives of the Jewish community and other groups such as the disabled, as well as ambassadors, senior officials, politicians, the diplomatic community, students from different educational institutions, civil society and non-governmental organizations gathered at the Western University in Baku to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

A key part of the event on 28 January, which also marked other atrocities that took place in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur, was the inauguration of the "To Bear Witness" photo exhibit on display at Western University until 2 February, and a screening of the video message of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

The event, designed to raise awareness among today's youth about the lessons of the past, so that future generations may carry forward the torch of remembrance and remind the world of the danger posed by hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice, was hosted by the Acting Rector of Western University.

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The Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religion, the Elie Wiesel Institute in Bucharest, the UN Information Centre and the Odeon Theatre marked International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust with a concert hosted by the Odeon Theatre on Sunday, 27 January 2008. The event brought together members of the diplomatic corps (Ambassadors of Israel, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK, France, Canada, Turkey, Hungary, and representatives of Belgium, Poland and US embassies), government officials, members of the Jewish and Roma communities in Romania, mass media, heads of UN agencies and UN staff.

All speakers – Mr. Virgil Nitulescu from the Ministry of Culture, Mr. Mihai Ionescu director of the Elie Wiesel Institute and Mr. Oliver Lustig, a Holocaust survivor - underlined the importance of educating youth in the dignity and equality for all human beings. "We need to learn from the past to prevent any discriminatory acts in the future", said Oliver Lustig.

Although we need to remember, honour and grieve for the more than 300,000 Romanian Jews and Roma Scinti who have been murdered, we must also get to the root of the Holocaust by ensuring that children and students get to the bottom of discrimination and understand the responsibility of everyone to be forever vigilant in defending human rights for all", said Jan Sorensen, UN Resident Coordinator.

Traian Basescu, the President of Romania, issued a special message on Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying that "On 27 January we remember all Jews, including Romanian Jews, sent to Birkenau-Auschwitz death camps. We commemorate the Day with a critical introspection in the past, on behalf of the truth and fundamental values of the democratic state. Romania reaffirms its respect and determination to commemorate those who have suffered, as well as its commitment to fight against discrimination, xenophobia and anti-Semitism by promoting the necessary legal framework."

The formal part of the event was followed by an outstanding performance by the Radio Orchestra and its soloist, Mr Alexandru Tomescu, a young Romanian talent playing on a Stradivarius violin.

This year, at the initiative of the DPI component of the UN Office in Belarus, International Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed for the first time in Belarus.

During the Second World War, more than eight hundred thousand Belarusian Jews perished within the walls of two hundred ghettos in Belarus. The Minsk ghetto was one of the largest ghettos in Europe and the second largest in the territory of the former USSR. There were more than one hundred thousand prisoners in the Minsk ghetto. More than six hundred Belarusian citizens of various ethnic backgrounds were granted "The Righteous Among the Nations" title for their help.

A special event to commemorate this Day was held at the National House of Culture of Veterans on 27 January 2008. The event was sponsored by the DPI unit, NGOs "National Holocaust Fund" and Union of Belarusian Jewish Public Associations and Communities.

The DPI Officer-in-Charge Victor Radivinovski expressed solidarity with the Holocaust victims on behalf of the United Nations and urged to be vigilant in the face of new challenges such as neo-nazism and extremism. Chairman of the National Holocaust Fund and Deputy Commissioner on religions and minorities underlined the importance of teaching about the Holocaust. The survivors from the ghetto and the death camps as well as the liberators of Auschwitz shared their memories with the audience. Six candles in memory of six million of Jews killed during the Holocaust were lit by the speakers.

Around 300 World War II veterans, governmental officials, representatives and NGOs, teachers, university and elementary school students took part in the event.