On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Ban urges stepped up efforts to combat genocide

Commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for intensified efforts to stamp out genocide and other grave human rights violations that persist.

In a statement, Mr. Ban has urged “all to speak out in the face of racism and hatred,” paying tribute to the millions of victims who suffered as a result of the Nazi atrocities, including discrimination, cruelty and murder.

“He condemns Holocaust denial and those who minimize the importance of the Holocaust,” pointing out that in 2007, the General Assembly adopted a resolution stating that “ignoring the historical fact of those terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated.”

The Secretary-General’s statement comes as Member States at the anti-racism meeting under way in Geneva adopted an outcome document, which Mr. Ban hailed as giving “hope to the millions of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance around the world.”