Madam Chairperson,  

The 29^th of September marks a deeply tragic date in the history of Ukraine. On this and the following day, 80 years ago, almost 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were executed by Nazis in a ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv, known as Babyn Yar.

This trail of death in Babyn Yar did not end until Kyiv was liberated from the occupiers. The lives of more than 100,000 Ukrainians, Jews, Roma and people of other nationalities were taken, which makes Kyiv one of the epicenters of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. In total, during World War II, the Nazis killed at least 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews - which represents a quarter of all of the Holocaust victims in Europe.

Every year Ukraine, in cooperation with the world Jewish community and international partners, commemorates the Babyn Yar tragedy at the state level.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued an official statement on the 80^th Anniversary of the Babyn Yar Tragedy paying tribute to the memory of the victims of this atrocity.

On 6 October, remembrance events will be held at Babyn Yar with the participation of world leaders, representatives of international organizations, Jewish NGOs, Holocaust witnesses, Ukrainians who saved Jews from death during the Nazi occupation and the Righteous Among the Nations from other countries.

We thank all our international partners, who will join official high-level commemorative events taking place at Babyn Yar next week to honor the memory of millions of the Holocaust victims.

It is only through international solidarity, by jointly promoting and protecting respect for universal values, human dignity, fundamental freedoms and human rights that we can prevent the revival of totalitarian empires, ideologies and practices that are prone to crimes against humanity.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.