WJC @ UNHRC: The rise of Nazi glorification, Holocaust denial and distortion

Representative delivering the statement: Mr. Leon Saltiel 

Thank you, Madam President, 

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the World Jewish Congress, the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, and the European Union of Jewish Students. 

Madam Rapporteur, we would like to thank you for your report on the glorification of Nazism, which confirms the alarming rise of antisemitism and conspiracy myths around the world and urges the international community to take immediate and determined action.

We are also very concerned by Holocaust denial and distortion, which includes efforts to minimize the impact of the Holocaust and rewrite history by whitewashing the role of Nazi collaborators as victims or heroes. This distortion only serves to deny the Holocaust as a historical event and trivializes its significance.

The historical facts about who were the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and who were the ones fighting against them, are well known. They cannot be changed and should never be used for the purposes of national heroism and false victimhood. Such attempts can also easily become fertile ground for blind nationalism, racism, antisemitism, neo-Nazism and xenophobia.

Madam rapporteur, these tendencies are not only discriminatory, offensive and outright lies, but are also contrary to the history and founding principles of the United Nations, which was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust. How can this Council take a clear and unambiguous stance on this matter?

Thank you.
 

To read more about WJC's activities at the 44th session of the United Nations Human Right's Council, click here.