A Jewish woman visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem January 26, 2007. International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be marked on Saturday.

The 61st UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution on Friday condemning denials of the Holocaust, a term referring to the mass killing of Jews by the Nazis before and during World War II.

The resolution, drafted by the United States, was cosponsored by 103 countries and was passed without a vote. It won the backing of nearly all UN member states except Iran, which in last December organized a two-day international conference to discuss the Holocaust, a move that had sparked widespread controversy.

The text, which makes no mention of any country by name, "condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust" and "urges all member states unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end."

In a statement welcoming the measure, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement voicing "his strong desire to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice."

Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa of Bahrain, the assembly's president, said the body, through the resolution, "reaffirms its condemnation of the Holocaust as a crime against humanity."

"This is a strong reminder to all that the international community is united in opposing all crimes against humanity," she said. "For the dignity of all humanity, we must strengthen our resolve to prevent such atrocities, whenever and wherever they might occur."

Acting US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said it made clear that all people and all states have a vital stake in a world free of genocide.

"We remember it (the Holocaust), indeed we must remember it, to ensure that such events are never repeated," he stressed.

Iranian envoy Hossein Gharibi, while reiterating his country's "unambiguous" condemnation of genocide against any race, dismissed the resolution as a manipulation to deflect attention from Israel's "atrocious" crimes.

"In our view there is no justification for genocide of any kind, nor can there be any justification for the attempt made by some --particularly by the Israeli regime -- to exploit the past crimes as a pretext to commit new genocide and crimes," Gharibi said.

The resolution was adopted on the eve of the major international remembrance day commemorating the Holocaust on Jan. 27, which was designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the UN General Assembly in a resolution cosponsored by 104 member states in November, 2005.

In a message prepared for the occasion, Ban calls the Holocaust "a unique and undeniable tragedy." The remembrance "is an essential response to those misguided individuals who claim that the Holocaust never happened, or has been exaggerated," he adds.

Last month, on the day he was sworn in as the next UN secretary-general, Ban told reporters that the denials of historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, "is just not acceptable."

UN chief welcomes adoption of resolution condemning Holocaust denial

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed on Friday the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a resolution unequivocally condemning any denial of the Holocaust.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban said "this reflects the prevailing view of the international community."

The Secretary-General reiterated his conviction that the denial of historical facts such as the Holocaust is unacceptable, and expressed his strong desire to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice.

The resolution, cosponsored by 103 countries, was approved by consensus, without a vote. It "condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust" and "urges all member states unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end."

 (Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)