European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
The idea of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation dates back to the International Stockholm Forum on the Holocaust organized by the Swedish Government on the 26-28 January 2000 and which emphasized that the whole international community shares today a solemn responsibility to fight such evils like ethnic cleansing, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Following that call a row of international NGO’s organized the first International Forum Let My People Live!. It was held in 2005 in Cracow, Poland and commemorated the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Nazi-German Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Over 26 countries were represented at the Forum, including many Heads of State and Government. Following the main inspiration that remembrance is invariably associated to action, at the end of this gathering the participants adopted a resolution to organize similar Forums in the future. For this purpose the World Holocaust Forum was called into life and has taken the responsibility to coordinate all efforts arising from the Cracow commitments. A series of educational activities was launched, together with numerous initiatives aimed at fostering the knowledge and remembrance of the Holocaust, as well as promoting tolerance in Europe. The II International Forum Let My People Live! was held in Kiev in commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the tragedy in Babi Yar.
The purpose of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation is to provide a forum for discussion, reflection and forward thinking on matters of European human rights policy in general, and promotion of tolerance in particular. In a complex world in which interests and priorities compete across the region, where a vast number of cultures, legal systems and national priorities come together, the Association identifies issues that impede efforts to effectively protect and promote human rights, to advance the creation of culture of tolerance, and proposes approaches and strategies that will advance these purposes.
The Association stimulates co-operation and exchange on tolerance-related issues across the non-governmental, governmental and intergovernmental sectors. It brings together policy-makers, human rights practitioners, scholars, along with those from related disciplines and fields whose knowledge and analysis can inform discussion of tolerance advancement in Europe. In all its efforts, the Association is European in perspective, inclusive and participatory in agenda-setting and collaborative in method.
The Council’s members are:
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (Chairman of the Council), former President of Poland
Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, President of the World Holocaust Forum
Jose-Maria Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator for the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe; Former Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Vienna
Vaclav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic
Milan Kučan, former President of Slovenia
Alfred Moisiu, former President of Albania
Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden, Initiator International Forum on the Holocaust
Rita Süssmuth, former Speaker of the German Bundestag
Vilma Trajkovska, President of the “Boris Trajkovski” Foundation, Macedonia
George Vasos Vasiliou, former President of Cyprus
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President of Latvia
Click here to read an interview with Aleksander Kwasniewski about the Council