Secretary-General deplores any conference that would question reality of Holocaust

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan came out strongly today against any effort to question or deny the Holocaust after reports that Iran would host a conference next week to discuss the scale and nature of the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews – already dismissed as a myth by its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“The Secretary-General personally believes that any attempt to cast doubt on the reality of this unique and undeniable horror must be firmly resisted by all people of goodwill and of whatever faith,” Mr. Annan spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told the daily UN news briefing.

“The Secretary-General would deeply deplore any conference whose purpose is to question or deny the reality of the Holocaust. Only a year ago the General Assembly passed a resolution which ‘rejects any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or part,’” Mr. Dujarric added.

He noted that Mr. Annan spoke to Mr. Ahmadinejad about the issue when he met with him in Tehran, Iran’s capital, in September. Mr. Annan also voiced “shock” last year when the Iranian leader was first reported to have made the remarks and to have called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

In his statement today, Mr. Dujarric recalled that the General Assembly resolution designated 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and he stressed that Israel is a full UN member and its rights need to be fully respected, just like those of all the other 191 Member States.