UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution Condemning Holocaust Denial

A resolution condemning attempts to distort and deny the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany, which massacred approximately 6 million Jews during World War II, has passed the United Nations General Assembly.

According to foreign media including the British BBC on the 20th (local time), the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution without a vote at the plenary session held at the UN Headquarters in New York. The resolution, proposed and submitted by Israel and Germany, stated that it "rejects and condemns any acts that wholly or partially deny the Holocaust (the Nazi genocide of Jews) as a historical event."

The UN General Assembly declared that all acts that diminish or justify the impact of the Holocaust, reduce the number of victims, or attempt to obscure Nazi Germany's responsibility by blaming the Jews for the genocide are considered Holocaust denial.

The adopted resolution also includes provisions to preserve the traces of Nazi Jewish forced labor camps and mass killings, and to encourage UN member states to introduce and operate Holocaust-related educational programs. Antje Leendertse, Germany's Ambassador to the UN, welcomed the adoption of the resolution, stating, "Ignoring historical facts increases the risk of such events happening again."

Meanwhile, as the generation that experienced World War II and the atrocities of Nazi Germany mostly passes away due to old age, anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism have been spreading recently in the United States and Europe. However, Iran, which has been in conflict with Israel over issues such as nuclear matters, stated that the resolution is unrelated to its country.