On int'l day of Holocaust remembrance, UN chief urges all to denounce "ideologies that set people against people"

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged "everyone to denounce political and religious ideologies that set people against people."

"Today we celebrate the liberation of the infamous Nazi extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and we reaffirm our commitment to the crucial work of Holocaust remembrance," he said in his message to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

For thousands of weakened and exhausted prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Jan. 27 was a day of freedom - a reprieve from a certain death sentence for simply who they were, he said.

"All these years later, we still rely on the survivors to ensure we never forget and to reaffirm our faith in the resilience of humanity," he said. "We are also here to pay our respects to the 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust."

The Secretary-General also noted rising violent extremism and sectarian tensions.

"Today, with a rising tide of anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and other forms of discrimination, we must do even more to defend these rights for people everywhere," he said.

The conflict in Syria has generated the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. The village of Madaya has become a scene of shocking suffering, he said.

Therefore, Ban called on those who have influence over the Syrian parties to press for sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Syria.

A Holocaust Memorial Ceremony is held Wednesday at UN Headquarters in New York, hosted by the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Cristina Gallach. Following remarks by UN officials and representatives from the diplomatic community, a video tribute will be made to Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from the Holocaust on the Czech Kindertransport. Enditem