23.10.2024


Today, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) launched a three-day international conference titled “The International Recognition of the Armenian Genocide: Memorial, Political, and Geopolitical Stakes of a Decades-Long Unfinished Struggle.” The event, co-organized with the University of Poitiers, features approximately thirty scholars from various countries, including Armenia, France, the USA, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Lebanon, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, India, Australia, Ireland, Finland, and Spain. Distinguished attendees included Nora Arisian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Syria to Armenia; Andrew Turner, Ambassador of Canada; Rafael Enrique Gonzalez Aleman, Ambassador of Argentina; and Denis Nazarov from the Russian Embassy.

In her opening remarks, AGMI Director Edita Gzoyan shared that the idea for the conference emerged from discussions with co-organizer Julien Zarifian, Professor at the University of Poitiers. She noted that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide began concurrently with the atrocities themselves. On May 24, 1915, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States issued a joint declaration condemning the Turkish authorities for the massacres, labeling them as crimes against humanity and civilization and calling for accountability. Notably, the Turkish state also condemned the Armenian massacres through military courts, punishing the main perpetrators in absentia.

Gzoyan pointed out that the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide faded from prominence until World War II, only to resurface after the adoption of the term “genocide” and the subsequent convention. She highlighted the significant role played by diaspora organizations in this process, which remains crucial to their efforts. Key figures including Virginie Laval, President of the University of Poitiers; Salwa Nacouzi, Rector of the French University of Armenia and Marc Mamigonian, Academic Director of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) expressed their support and welcomed the conference participants. At the end of the first day, a round-table discussion focused on the American recognition of the Armenian Genocide, featuring Julien Zarifian and former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.

The conference will continue tomorrow and the following day.

For more information about the participants and presentations: https://genocide-recognition.am/?page_id=11.