that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality make some people's lives worth less than others'. Genocide, antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination still continue. We have a shared responsibility to fight these evils. We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust and other genocide. We will do our utmost to make sure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt. We will continue to encourage Holocaust remembrance by holding an annual Holocaust Memorial Day. We condemn the evils of prejudice, discrimination and racism. We value a free, tolerant, and democratic society. Criticism Muslim Council of Britain Between 2001 and 2007, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) expressed its unwillingness to attend the ceremony. The MCB instead called for a more inclusive day proposing the commemoration of deaths in Palestine, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, along with the Holocaust. In a press release dated 26 January 2001 the Council listed two points of contention that prevented them from attending the event, which were that it "totally excludes and ignores the ongoing genocide and violation of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere" and that "It includes the controversial question of alleged Armenian genocide as well as the so-called gay genocide." The MCB did not send official representatives to any of the official events associated with Holocaust Memorial Day. In 2005 Iqbal Sacranie suggested that the deaths of Palestinians should also be remembered. In a public and controversial interview on the BBC programme Panorama, he, the then General Secretary of the MCB, denied that the policy constituted a boycott. The MCB subsequently made an official complaint to the BBC that their position had been misrepresented by selective editing of the interview. This complaint was rejected by the BBC. The MCB policy of withholding participation was condemned variously by Labour MP Louise Ellman, Peter Tatchell representing the lesbian and gay human rights group OutRage!, and Terry Sanderson of the British National Secular Society. On 3 December 2007, the MCB voted to end the boycott. Assistant General Secretary Inayat Bunglawala argued it was 'inadvertently causing hurt to some in the Jewish community'. The MCB renewed their boycott for the 2009 commemoration, in reaction to the 2008–2009 conflict in Gaza. Despite initially refusing to confirm whether or not they would take part in the 2010 commemoration,