The appeal, sent on the occasion of the second annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, cites the Iranian government’s promotion of antisemitism through repeated and ongoing denials of the Holocaust in speeches, formal submissions to U.N. human rights bodies, and public events.

Human Rights First is concerned that the Iranian government has used the device of Holocaust denial to actively promote anti-Jewish hatred and violence, in violation of its obligations as a U.N. member state. Human Rights First has concluded that the official organization of a December 2006 conference to promote denial of the reality of the Holocaust, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statements denying the Holocaust, have been part of a government strategy to demonize the Jewish people and incite antisemitic hatred and violence. 

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Holocaust Remembrance resolution on November 1, 2005 (resolution 60/7), creating an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and a program of education and awareness raising.  Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this resolution reaffirms that “the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.”

The resolution also commends those states which have actively engaged in the preservation of sites which served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labor camps and prisons during the Holocaust.
                      
The text of the appeal follows below:

This appeal was sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Racism Doudou Diene, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Prevention of Genocide Juan Mendez.

January 29, 2007

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations, urge you to use the occasion of the United Nations’ second annual International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust to condemn, strongly and specifically, the repeated and ongoing denials of the Holocaust by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. By combating the denial of genocide the UN will on this day reassert its commitment to human rights.

These denials have come most recently in a January 8 letter from the Iranian ambassador in Geneva to the UN Human Rights Council.  In that letter, the ambassador defended his government’s December conference questioning the Holocaust as “legitimate” and asserted that there are “serious opposing ideas over the issue.”  It is unconscionable for Iran to exploit the UN’s foremost human rights forum to perpetrate, as President Jacques Chirac described it last week, “a crime against the truth, the absolute perversion of the soul and spirit.”

In its historic Resolution 60/7 establishing the Day of Commemoration, the General Assembly “reject[ed] any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or part.”  We commend the UN for reiterating this principle on several occasions.  In his message for this year’s commemoration, Secretary-General Ban called those who claim that the Holocaust never happened or has been exaggerated “misguided.”  Former Secretary-General Annan also deplored the December Holocaust denial conference, and he expressed his shock in September 2005 when the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first publicly denied the Holocaust and called for the destruction of Israel. The Security Council also condemned these remarks.

Nevertheless, the government of Iran continues to deny the Holocaust, as its recent letter to the Human Rights Council attests. Each incident of denial is a further incitement to hatred and anti-Semitism that requires condemnation by the UN.

The UN was founded on the ashes of the Holocaust, and was created to prevent such horrors from ever happening again.  In the words of former Secretary-General Annan:

The Holocaust occupies a unique place in the history of the United Nations. . . . Our global mission of peace, freedom and human dignity was literally forged in fire -- in fact the most awful fires mankind has ever seen. . . . The United Nations has a sacred responsibility to combat hatred and intolerance.  A United Nations that fails to be at the forefront of the fight against anti-Semitism and other forms of racism denies its history and undermines its future. . . . The United Nations must remain eternally vigilant.
 
You have the moral authority to ensure that this sacred responsibility is met.  The ongoing racist campaign by Iran must be combated and publicly repudiated at each and every incident.  Regrettably, diplomatically worded statements that do not specifically name Iran have failed to have the desired effect.

We appeal to you this year to honour the UN commitment to Holocaust Commemoration by strongly rebuking Iran’s campaign of Holocaust denial.  Its threats cannot be ignored.  Otherwise, the promise of “Never again” may ring hollow, yet again.

Sincerely yours,

Human Rights First
Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director

World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women
Renate Bloem, UN Representative

Freedom House
Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director

France Libertés Fondation
Catherine Legna, Director

NGO Committee on Sustainable Development
Roma Stibravy, Chairperson

Women's Federation for World Peace International
Elisabeth Riedl, European Secretary General

The Democracy Coalition Project
Theodore Piccone, Executive Director

Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
Abdelbagi Jibril, Executive Director

Association of World Citizens
Virginia Swain, ECOSOC Representative

International Council of Jewish Women
Léonie de Picciotto, Representative to the UN

International Humanist and Ethical Union
Roy Brown, Main Representative, UN Geneva

UN Watch
Hillel C. Neuer, Executive Director

Transnational Radical Party
Matteo Mecacci, Representative to the UN

Endeavour Forum Inc.
Babette Francis, National & Overseas Co-ordinator

The Montagnard Foundation, Inc.
Kok Ksor, President 

B’nai B’rith International
Daniel S. Mariaschin, Executive Vice-President

Association for World Education
Rene Wadlow, Representative to UN, Geneva

World Union of Progressive Judaism
Rabbi Uri Regev, President

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Director

International Federation of Housing and Planning
Paul Rijnaarts, Secretary General

American Psychological Association &
International Council of Psychologists 
Florence L. Denmark, Main Representative to the UN

Thailand Burma Border Consortium
Sally Thompson, Deputy Executive Director

World Federation for Mental Health
Myrna Lachenal, Lead Representative to the UN, Geneva
 
Don Bosco Ashalayam
Fr. Jose Mathew SDB, Director

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Edward S. Beck, President

American Jewish Congress
David Twersky, Senior Adviser, International Affairs

European Union of Jewish Students
Olga Israel, Chair

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty