UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and Israel jointly launched on Monday stamps in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

    The launch at the U.N. Headquarters was attended by the head of the U.N. Department of Communications and Public Information (UNDPI), Kiyotaka Akasaka, Israel's Communications Ministers Ariel Atias and U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman.

    In a message delivered by Akasaka, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the stamp "demonstrates the commitment of the United Nations to pay tribute to all the victims of the Holocaust, honor the survivors, and reaffirms its efforts to help prevent future acts of genocide."

    "In this way, we can help inspire succeeding generations to overcome hatred and bigotry," Ban said.

    Atias said the joint issuance of the stamps "represents an important step in worldwide efforts to ensure that the Holocaust will not be forgotten."

    The launch of the stamps, which incorporates the award-winning logo of the UNDPI's "Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Program," marked the first time that a U.N. stamp was launched simultaneously with a national stamp.

    The logo features a pair of barbed wires, colored in grey and set against a black background, run horizontally across the page and finally transform into a green-hued vine from which a pair of flowers blossoms.

    The U.N. stamp is available in denominations of 41 cents, 0.85 Swiss francs and 0.65 euro at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, and the U.N. Offices in Geneva and Vienna, respectively.

    The national stamp, issued by the Israel Postal Company in Hebrew, is in a denomination of 4.6 shekels.

    The U.N. Postal Administration has also made available a joint silk first day coversheet featuring all three U.N. stamps in English, French and German, canceled with the first day of issue postmarks.