Updated

A couple renowned for documenting all 76,000 people deported from France and tracking down Nazis for prosecution, will now work with the U.N. education agency on genocide prevention.

Paris-based UNESCO is honoring Serge and Beate Klarsfeld in a ceremony Monday, naming them special envoys and honorary ambassadors.

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization praised the pair for their tireless support for the cause of the descendants of deported Jews and "their wake-up call to societies to recognize their historical and moral responsibilities" after World War II.

Serge Klarsfeld, 80, a French historian, lawyer and Holocaust survivor, and his 76-year-old German-born wife searched archives around the world and carefully documented Holocaust victims. Their work clinched court convictions for former Nazis and shed light on French collaboration.