23 January 2006
The United States government intends to introduce a United Nations resolution on Tuesday condemning the denial of the Holocaust. The document is aimed at a conference in Iran last year dominated by delegates who questioned the extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in World War II. US officials hope the resolution, which so far is backed by 39 nations including Europeans, Russia and China, could be adopted on Friday in the 192-member UN General Assembly.
The measure urges member states "to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event" and "condemns without reservation any denial of the Holocaust." It does not mention Iran by name, although American officials said it was a reaction to the Tehran conference convened in December by Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Most speakers at the gathering threw doubt on the mass extermination of Jews. Since coming to power in August 2005, Ahmadinejad has caused an international outcry by terming the Holocaust a "myth" and calling Israel a "tumor" in the Middle East. At the urging of former secretary-general Kofi Annan, the General Assembly in 2005 held its first ever session on the Holocaust to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The Assembly designated 27 January as the International Day of Commemoration for victims of the Holocaust and the US resolution is timed to coincide with that date.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon issued the following statement: "The Holocaust was a unique and undeniable tragedy. Decades later, the systematic murder of millions of Jews and others retains its power to shock. The ability of the Nazis to command a following, despite their utter depravity, still strikes fear. And above all, the pain remains: for ageing survivors, and for all of us as a human family that witnessed a descent into barbarism. The work of remembrance pays tribute to those who perished. But it also plays a vital role in our efforts to stem the tide of human cruelty. It keeps us vigilant for new outbreaks of anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. And it is an essential response to those misguided individuals who claim that the Holocaust never happened, or has been exaggerated.
"The International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is thus a day on which we must reassert our commitment to human rights. That cause was brutally desecrated at Auschwitz, and by genocides and atrocities since. We must also go beyond remembrance, and make sure that new generations know this history. We must apply the lessons of the Holocaust to today's world. And we must do our utmost so that all peoples must enjoy the protections and rights for which the United Nations stands. On this International Day, I reiterate my strong commitment to that mission, and call on all to join in our common quest for human dignity."
