The U.N. culture and education agency has teamed up with the World Jewish Congress to launch a website to counter Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.
UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azoulay and WJC President Ronald Lauder unveiled the interactive "Facts about the Holocaust" website at the cultural agency's Paris headquarters on Monday.
It features a trove of historical information about the Holocaust, including testimonies, and it is linked to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Online Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The new site has been conceived to combat what UNESCO calls "increased hate and disinformation online" on Jewish issues. It comes five months after the organization launched the U.N.'s first educational guidelines on fighting anti-Semitism.
World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer said that "this is an initiative of the utmost importance, because today, 75 years after the Holocaust, more than 46% of the population of the world never even heard of the worst atrocity in history."
"The World Jewish Congress commends the UNESCO Secretary General Audrey Azoulay for this vital cooperation," he added. "Together we believe that by remembering the past, we can defend our future."
UNESCO's pro-Jewish initiatives come as Israel prepares its withdrawal from the agency amid accusations that it fosters anti-Jewish bias.
