United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that more must be done to thwart neo-Nazis and white supremacists who are using the Covid-19 pandemic to target minorities, increase their ranks and re-write history.

The UN chief made the impassioned appeal in a video message for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, observed annually on January 27, which honours the 6 million Jews and millions of others murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War.

As this year’s anniversary is taking place under the shadow of the pandemic, Guterres noted that the crisis has exposed longstanding injustices and contributed to a renewed rise in antisemitism and xenophobia.

“Today, white supremacists and neo-Nazis are resurgent, organising and recruiting across borders, intensifying their efforts to deny, distort and rewrite history including the Holocaust,” said the secretary-general.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has given them new opportunities to target minorities, based on religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, disability and immigration status. We must make urgent joint efforts to stop them.”