U.S.: UN Holocaust resolution rejects 'any form of Holocaust denial'

The United States welcomed on Friday passage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference of a resolution to promote remembrance of the Holocaust. A statement from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack's office said the resolution clearly demonstrates the refusal of UNESCO's member states to countenance any form of Holocaust denial. That was a reference to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who early this year described as a myth that the Nazis slaughtered millions of Jews and people of other ethnic groups during World War II. The resolution, sponsored by the United States, Israel, Russia, Australia and Canada, asks UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura to work out with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon how UNESCO could promote Holocaust awareness and combat all forms of Holocaust denial. Advertisement The 193 member states at UNESCO's 34th General Conference, its main decision-makking body, adopted the resolution by consensus. Over recent months, extensive political efforts have been made to recruit international support for a program to promote awareness of the Holocaust by means of battling every form of Holocaust denial and formulating educational curriculums. Under the guidelines of the new program, UNESCO will now be able to prepare educational and instructional curriculums on Holocaust remembrance, and promote the incorporation of such studies in core curriculums, conferences and research worldwide. These activities will be carried out in tandem with the Holocaust remembrance programs currently being developed at the United Nations headquarters in New York. In addition, a permanent exhibit on the Holocaust is set to open at the UN headquarters in New York, to be displayed along the path taken by tourists and visitors on guided tours of the building. The exhibit, a result of extensive efforts made by Israel's Foreign Ministry, aims to balance out the permanent exhibit on Palestinian refugees, also displayed on site. (Haaretz-03/11/2007)