United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 (2005) and UNESCO General Conference Resolution 34C/61 (2007) on Holocaust Remembrance emphasize the historical significance of the Holocaust and outline the importance of teaching this event as a contribution to the prevention of genocide and atrocity crimes. UNESCO created, in 2015, an International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education, with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. UNESCO implemented the programme after a joint study with the Georg Eckert Institute on the International Status of Education about the Holocaust found that 1 in five countries do not reference to the Holocaust in their school curricula at all, and a further 33 % of national school curricula only mentioned the context in which the Holocaust occurred, such as the Second World War or National Socialism without referring explicitly to the Holocaust.

Through the International Programme, UNESCO provides training and guidance to advance Holocaust and genocide in all regions in ways that resonate with local audiences, in close cooperation with our Field Offices. We have just launched the third cycle of this program, covering the next three years, to work with 10 Member States.

To further strengthen regional approaches is this field, UNESCO, the UN and IICBA are developing a guide for African teachers on teaching about genocide, supported by a curriculum review and needs assessment in 6 African countries. The guide will be published in December 2022.

UNESCO also created a Latin American Network on Holocaust and Genocide Education. In 2021, we organized a series of 5 training workshops, gathering thousands of teacher-trainers and teachers from across the region, on issues pertaining to Holocaust education and dealing with violent pasts though formal and non-formal education, as well as addressing antisemitism and hate speech.