An antidote to our amnesia or a time to heal

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on January 27, honours the memories of victims from concentration camps during World War 2.

The 2005 United Nations General Assembly resolution urges all member nations to commemorate the victims’ memories and encourage educational programmes about Holocaust history to help prevent future genocides.

Lately, we have witnessed the genocide of entire communities, particularly women and children. The deliberate targeting of mosques, monuments, medical facilities, or heritage sites provides evidence of genocidal intent in the form of physical destruction. Genocides vary greatly in their implementation.

It would appear that no lessons have been learned from history and no educational efforts to help prevent acts of genocide have been particularly effective. The pledge not to let the horrors of the Holocaust happen again slip into obscurity.

The Holocaust shows the dangers of unchecked prejudice, discrimination and dehumanisation. It also reveals the range of human responses.

An Amnesty International report issued last month determined that Israel had perpetrated and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. According to the report, 'You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza,' Israel has committed acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention, such as killings, causing major bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting conditions of life that will result in their physical destruction.

According to the report, Israel has continued to perpetrate genocide while knowing full well the catastrophic devastation it was causing. The findings suggest that nothing has been learned from the Holocaust.

A genocide has recently been declared in Sudan. Ethnically motivated killings have intensified in western Darfur, echoing the pattern of targeted killings that typifies genocide. Over 11 million people have been displaced in Sudan. Those unable to flee are confined in Darfur’s Zanzam camp, where a famine was declared in December.

The topic of 2025's Human Rights Day, observed in December, is 'Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights.' It is difficult to understand Holocaust Remembrance Day and this year's Human Rights guiding theme, which focuses on dignity when states are more concerned with defending their international agendas than stopping the slaughter of civilians.

Genocide is the deliberate destruction of national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups. Public humiliation and psychological intimidation are methods used against opponents through a combination of publicity and secrecy. People choose to commit genocide, despite the international community's continuous affirmation of 'the dignity and worth of human beings.'

Major states, leaders, and institutions have either failed to understand how to prevent genocide or have chosen to do nothing. Some fuel it with a steady supply of arms, ammunition and replacement parts.

Then comes the question of dignity and its relationship to human rights. In academia, dignity is defined as a key value of status that underpins fundamental moral duties or rights. It is the inviolable worth of every human being regardless of background, circumstances, or abilities.

We see humiliation and a violation of human dignity. Where is the dignity of millions of children and adolescents out of school? Where is the dignity of children raised in poverty or without access to essential survival and living resources?

The veneer of civilisation is already thin and fragile; the memory of the Holocaust is fading and in some ways, the stench of destruction fills the air.

Holocaust Remembrance offers insights on social justice, human rights and genocide awareness. These moral issues require careful consideration, particularly when remaining silent, apathetic, or indifferent to the oppression of others can breed xenophobia and hatred.

One of the most touching comments from Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, was: "When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is threatened, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant."

However, political and moral blind spots allow atrocities to persist.