The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urged the citizens of the world to honor the victims of the Holocaust that was perpetrated by the Nazi regime during World War II, through the reaffirmation of the belief in the values and standards promoted by the UN. In a corporate message on International Day in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust, Ban said that people should continue to teach future generations the lessons learned in “the darkest chapters of history.” “We must fight Holocaust denial, and denounce hatred and intolerance and we must enforce the standards and laws created by the United Nations to protect people and fight impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Ban said.

Ban laments that the world is “plagued by relentless violence, the total disregard for human rights and an attack on people because of their identity.” He is encouraged by the academic and educational initiatives started in recent years around the world to prevent the neglect of this tragedy. In November 2005, the member countries of the UN adopted a resolution which stated that each January 27 be commemorated worldwide for the liberation in 1945 by Russian troops of the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz.

The Holocaust was the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Jewish population in Europe that was sponsored and perpetrated by Hitler’s Nazi regime. In many popular accounts, the death toll is pegged at approximately 6 million Jews who perished. A more careful look into history, taking into account all those affected by the Holocaust network, will reveal a total death toll of 17 million people that includes non-Jews.

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Via UN News Centre