Iraqi Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) Program

Amman, Jordan: A total of 17,694 expatriate Iraqis registered to vote on the eighth day of registration for the International Organization for Migration’s Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) Program for Iraq’s Transitional National Assembly Election. This brings the total number of registrants to 255,611.

On 17 January, Iraq OCV opened 75 registration facilities in the 14 countries hosting the Program across the Middle East, North America, Europe and Australia. Registration is necessary for any expatriate Iraqi wanting to participate in the Out-of-Country Vote. Facilities will be open every day from 08:00 to 19:00, local time (except in the Netherlands where centres still close at 17:00). Additionally, registration has now been extended until Tuesday, 25 January.

To be deemed eligible to participate in the Out-of-Country Voting Program, Iraqis have to prove their identity, their Iraqi nationality, and must have been born on, or before, 31 December 1986. They must present at least two acceptable forms of documentation to registration officials. This could include be a passport or any other relevant document issued by a state, state agency or international institution.

Once people have successfully registered to vote, they will be issued with a registration receipt which they must present on polling day, together with a photo ID. Voters must return to the same station they registered in to cast their vote. Polling takes place from 28 to 30 January, with the last day coinciding with Election Day in Iraq.

IOM is conducting an OCV Program on behalf of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI). The IECI is the exclusive electoral authority for the Iraq elections. It is an independent, non-partisan body, which has the authority to legally enforce rules and procedures relating to elections held throughout the Transitional Period.

Click here for a more detailed breakdown of registration numbers.

For full information on registration locations, voter eligibility criteria, or procedures for becoming accredited to observe or cover Iraq OCV’s registration, polling and counting processes, please visit http://www.iraqocv.org/.

Monique De Groot IOM OCV Iraq Spokesperson +962 (0)79 640 0436

Darren Boisvert IOM OCV HQ Media Officer +962 (0)79 640 0392

Sarah Tosh IOM OCV HQ Media Officer +962 (0)79 640 0399

60th Anniversary Liberation of Auschwitz

60th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 2005

At the Auschwitz concentration camp, evil found willing servants and innocent victims. For almost 5 years, Auschwitz was a factory for murder where more than a million lives were taken. It is a sobering reminder of the power of evil and the need for people to oppose evil wherever it exists. It is a reminder that when we find anti-Semitism, we must come together to fight it.

In places like Auschwitz, evidence of the horror of the Holocaust has been preserved to help the world remember the past. We must never forget the cruelty of the guilty and the courage of the victims at Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.

During the Holocaust, evil was systematic in its implementation and deliberate in its destruction. The 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz is an opportunity to pass on the stories and lessons of the Holocaust to future generations. The history of the Holocaust demonstrates that evil is real, but hope endures.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 27, 2005, as the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. I call upon all Americans to observe this occasion with appropriate ceremonies

and programs to honor the victims of Auschwitz and the Holocaust. May God bless their memory and their families, and may we always remember.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentyfifth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentyninth. GEORGE W. BUSH

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 25, 2005

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• commemorate liberation Nazi concentration camps - January 21, 2005 President George W. Bush today announced his designation of a Presidential Delegation to a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps on January 24, 2005.
• Auschwitz-Birkinau death camps - Vice President Cheney will lead the United States delegation to Poland for the 60th commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkinau death camps.