Prevention of Genocide Central to Armenia's Multilateral Agenda: Deputy Foreign Minister

On the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Abisoghomonyan participated and spoke at a high-level meeting organized by Armenia during the plenary session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the anniversary of this important date.

“Ten years ago, at Armenia's initiative, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring December 9 as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and the Prevention of this Crime. This high-level meeting is mandated by the resolution calling on member states to ‘strengthen efforts towards the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.’ As long as violent conflicts, wars, and mass crimes continue to occur at alarming scales and brutality, we need a profound analysis of how the multilateral system, prevention mechanisms, international courts, states, and other stakeholders can address the growing challenges of restoring peace, protecting the most vulnerable groups, as well as ensuring accountability, non-recurrence, and reconciliation.

We must ensure that any case of early warning is never met with inaction or indifference. The prevention of genocide has occupied a central place on Armenia's multilateral agenda since restoring its place among sovereign nations. Today, we are fully determined to continue developing actions, policies, and partnerships to promote the initiative of prevention as a tribute to our past, as a commitment to the victims of ongoing wars and conflicts, and as a promise for a future free from such abhorrent disasters. Prevention of genocide is not merely a legal obligation; it is a test of our collective conscience. So let us ensure that ‘never again’ becomes not just a recurring slogan of remembrance but a principle of governance…