As part of his two-day official visit to the Republic of Croatia, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Professor Michael O’Flaherty, held a meeting with the Co-Chairs of the IHRA, Ambassador Terezija Gras, who informed him of the priorities of the Croatian IHRA Presidency.
The overarching theme of the Croatian IHRA Presidency is the Future of Remembrance, while one of the priorities is the Zagreb IHRA-wide statement on Holocaust denial and distortion, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the adoption of this IHRA Working definition. The IHRA hopes to also adopt the Safeguarding Sites Charter at the Zagreb Plenary. The Co-Chairs and Professor O’Flaherty discussed the modalities of cooperation with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights during the Croatian Presidency of the Alliance.
Director Michael O’Flaherty welcomed the presented priorities of the Croatian Presidency of the IHRA and pointed out that the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, as one of the permanent international partners of the IHRA, supports the Alliance’s Presidencies in implementing their priorities, especially when it comes to combating antisemitism and discrimination against the Roma. Examples of such contributions are the Agency’s survey on antisemitic incidents and an analysis of the implementation of the European Union Strategic Framework for Roma Inclusion. He announced the launch of a new research publication “Antisemitism — Update of data available in the EU” that should be ready for by September 2023. Furthermore, he recognised the importance of the Agency’s support in marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the IHRA Working definition on Holocaust denial and distortion. In this regard, he committed to explore the possibility for the Agency to conduct research into the adoption of the IHRA definition of Holocaust denial and distortion in EU Member States.