By Staff, from ADL press release and U.N. Web Site
New York, NY — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday, Jan. 26, 2007 welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly which “rejects efforts to deny the Holocaust.” The resolution, introduced by the United States and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, was adopted by consensus.
Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor, issued the following statement :
As the U.N.’s International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust approaches, we are pleased that the UN is taking steps to live up to its commitment to Holocaust remembrance with its adoption of a resolution condemning Holocaust denial. Denial of the Holocaust has become a cause celebre for too many in the world today, led by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who recently hosted a gathering of Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites from around the world.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Iran expressed its defiant opposition to the consensus of the entire General Assembly by objecting to the resolution, calling it hypocritical and an abuse of General Assembly procedure.
We hope that UN member states will follow the recommendations of the resolution and confront all forms of Holocaust denial, in order to protect the memory of those who have perished and stand up against all current and future acts of genocide.
We applaud the U.S. for introducing the resolution and its many co-sponsors for ensuring its adoption.
The League collected more than 17,000 signatures on a petition addressed to General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, urging the U.N. to “speak with one voice and stand up to Holocaust denial.”
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
From the U.N. Web Site: 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. […]
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.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
The Day of Remembrance will be observed on Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 at the U.N.
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