THE WORLD JEWISH RESTITUTION ORGANIZATION WELCOMES HISTORIC UN RESOLUTION REJECTING AND CONDEMNING HOLOCAUST DENIAL
On the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference, United Nations General Assembly approves International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion
(New York, NY) January 20, 2022: Today, the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) welcomes the passage of a historic resolution by the United Nations General Assembly (A/76/L.30) which “Rejects and condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or part.” The measure, submitted by Israel, together with Germany and 69 other countries, was approved by (consensus without a vote).
“The adoption of the resolution by the United Nations General Assembly on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference is a powerful statement by the international community in combating Holocaust denial and distortion,” said Mark Weitzman, Chief Operating Office, World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). “As one of the lead authors of IHRA’s Working Definition of Holocaust Denial and Distortion, I applaud the commitment of the UN and its international membership to uphold the integrity of the historical record to ensure that we can seek justice for Holocaust survivors and Jewish communities whose property was brutally taken by the Nazis and their allies as an integral part of the genocide.”
In addition, the resolution:
- Urges all Member States to reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end;
- Commends those Member States which have actively engaged in preserving those sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labour camps, killing sites and prisons during the Holocaust, as well as similar places operated by Nazi-allied regimes, their accomplices, or auxiliaries;
- Urges Member States to develop educational programmes that will inculcate future generations with the lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide, and in this context commends the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance;
- Urges Member States and social media companies to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion by means of information and communications technologies and to facilitate reporting of such content;
- Requests the United Nations outreach programme on the Holocaust as well as all relevant United Nations specialized agencies to continue to develop and implement programmes aimed at countering Holocaust denial and distortion, and to advance measures to mobilize civil society and invites all relevant stakeholders, including States, parliaments, the private sector and academia to educate their societies truthfully about the facts of the Holocaust and the importance of its lessons as a countermeasure against Holocaust denial and distortion, in order to prevent future acts of genocide.
The vote was held on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference organized by the Nazis to coordinate the implementation of Hitler’s Final Solution.
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