[3] The resolution was developed following a special session convened on 24 January of that year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the conclusion of the Holocaust.

It showcased toys, games, artwork, diaries, and poems to tell their stories and highlight their struggle for survival amid the horrors of that time.

It featured welcoming remarks by former Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor; a videotaped message by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan; statements by the permanent representatives of Israel and Brazil to the UN, Holocaust survivor, historian, and author Gerda Weissmann Klein, and the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation; narration of photographs of Holocaust victims memorialized on "Pages of Testimony" in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem;[10] as well as a performance by the Zamir Chorale of Boston; and a lecture by Yehuda Bauer, an academic advisor to Yad Vashem and the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.

[11][12] On 29 January, the second annual observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust was held in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters.

[13] Shasta Tharp, former Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, introduced a programme that began with a video message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Statements were then made by Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, president of the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, and Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations.

The observance focused on the importance of infusing today's youth with the lessons of the Holocaust so that future generations may work to prevent hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice.

Thomas Schindlmayr of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs highlighted the importance of education in promoting tolerance and ending discrimination against all minorities, particularly in light of the adoption by the General Assembly on 13 December 2006 of the landmark Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A musical performance was also given by HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Chamber Choir, a project of the Zamir Choral Foundation founded and directed by Matthew Lazar.

[15] The electronic notes provide survivor testimony and information materials that will equip speakers with the tools needed to conduct briefings on the Holocaust and lessons to be learned from it.

Its mission is to provide both the victims and the survivors of the Holocaust with the dignity of a permanent historical presence, not as impersonal statistics but as individuals with names, voices, and emotions.

[17] Throughout the week of 28 January 2008, the United Nations Department of Public Information organized a number of events around the world to remember the victims of the Holocaust and underscore the value of human life.

Other speakers included Srgjan Kerim (Macedonia), president of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, and Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

In preparation for the exhibit opening, Elizabeth Edelstein, Director of Education for the Museum of Jewish Heritage, briefed the United Nations tour guides on the history of the Holocaust to further their understanding of this watershed event.

In Brazil, an observance was held on 25 January with the president of the country, Jose Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, César Maia.

[22][23] In January 2020, Chelsea FC unveiled a mural by Solomon Souza on an outside wall of the West Stand at Stamford Bridge stadium to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In Israel on International Holocaust Remembrance Day government officials, diplomats and ambassadors visit Yad Vashem[27] and there are ceremonies throughout the country.