FIR and camp committees for the protection of concentration camp memorial sites

21.03.2026

This week, representatives of the International Camp Committees of the major concentration camp memorial sites, directors and staff of the memorials, and representatives of the FIR met in The Hague to discuss safeguarding concentration camp memorial sites as European cultural heritage. In view of the political shift to the right in various European countries and revisionist initiatives by the far right, they considered it urgently necessary to place the memorial sites themselves under international protection, as had already been decided in 1991 at the initiative of veterans’ associations by European bodies. At the conference in The Hague, the following declaration was presented to the public: Include memorial sites of former concentration camps in the World Heritage List

Include memorial sites of former concentration camps in the World Heritage List

At a time when democracy and the rule of law in Europe can no longer be taken for granted, international committees of former concentration camps call on European governments to protect these important sites.

After the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps at the end of the Second World War, former prisoners came together in various international committees representing national committees from different countries. All these committees, which operate on a voluntary basis, have not only advocated for the interests of those directly affected and their families, but have also worked to preserve dignified memorial sites. In many cases, they had to struggle for years to establish such memorials. Furthermore, they have consistently advocated for a safer, united Europe in which human rights are upheld without compromise. The preservation of values such as peace, democracy, European security, unity, fraternity, and humanity is enshrined in the statutes of most committees.

Currently, the international committees share serious concerns regarding threats to the rule of law and anti-democratic tendencies in both European and global politics. European security is under pressure, and international tensions are increasing. At the same time, the value of memorial sites is being denied and questioned.

These memorial sites play a crucial role in today’s culture of remembrance. They are authentic and tangible testimonies of a time in which the complete deprivation of rights led to mass crimes of unimaginable scale. Moreover, the memorials place these events in a broader context of the absence of the rule of law and of fundamental and human rights—the “right to have rights” (Hannah Arendt). In doing so, they create links to the present and thus serve as an important warning. It is essential that memorial sites can continue their work and are protected from any form of historical distortion or political misuse. For this reason, in 1991 the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and all Member States unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the preservation and protection of memorials at the sites of Nazi concentration camps (Resolution B3-0208, 0218, 0219, 0228 and 0284/93). To this day, this resolution has not been implemented at the level of a common European agenda. The UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 aims to better preserve sites of outstanding universal value for humanity for future generations. In addition to the international protection granted by inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, this status also promotes understanding between cultures.

The above-mentioned memorial sites are of great importance to all humanity, as they are places that make visible what happens when the dignity of all people is not protected. Their value, both as sites and in their significance, is universal.

Therefore, the undersigned international committees and the memorial sites associated with them call on their heads of government to nominate these sites for inclusion on the World Heritage List, where they are not already listed.