UK to Chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

The UK has taken over the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

The alliance, formed in 1998, aims to equip future generations with an understanding of the Holocaust. Its work is divided into three key areas: education, remembrance and research.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was delighted to lead the other 30 member states in the powerful cause.

He said: "We were one of the three founding members of the Alliance and we are proud to take on its leadership again today.

"We pledge to use our chairmanship to strengthen the efforts of the IHRA's 31 member states to promote education, remembrance and research about the Holocaust, to strengthen the moral commitment of our peoples, and the political commitment of our governments to ensure that future generations can understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect on its consequences.

"Among our aims for 2014 will be to intensify work on the IHRA's programme of academic, educational and commemorative research and to continue to extend the influence of the organisation beyond the confines of Europe and North America.

"In the words of the Stockholm Declaration, signed at the founding of the Alliance, 'our commitment must be to remember the victims who perished, respect the survivors still with us, and reaffirm humanity's common aspiration for mutual understanding and justice."

It is the second time that Britain chairs the Alliance.