Statement by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia, during the adoption of draft resolution "Prevention of Genocide" at the 43rd session of UN Human Rights Council

22 June, 2020

President,

It’s an honor to present draft resolution L.26 entitled “Prevention of genocide”, which enjoys wide co-sponsorship from all five regional groups. Previous resolutions on this issue have always been adopted by consensual support of this august Council and its predecessor for almost two decades.

The draft resolution is a manifestation of Armenia’s continuing and resolute commitment to the international efforts for genocide prevention. It’s a call to prevent deterioration of the human rights violations into such an egregious crime as genocide is. It’s pertinent and urgent as we all witness gross abuses of human rights in different parts of the world.

Today it is not enough just to say “Never Again!” If pronouncing that motto loud enough should have had any effect, or one that we wanted, there should have been no more instances of the crime of genocide registered anywhere around the globe.

It was no coincidence that the Genocide Convention was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly. That fact is finally going to be duly noted by the Council. We are glad that the new draft enhances the relevant role of the HRC and UN human rights machinery at large.

The Council will recognize that genocide is typically preceded or accompanied by widespread human rights violations, patterns of discrimination, statements by public figures that express support for the affirmation of superiority of a group. It encourages to take measures necessary to prevent the destruction of historic monuments, memorial sites, including in places where crimes and atrocities have been committed. The draft also discusses the gender aspects of genocide, it acknowledges the contribution of the civil society and attaches importance to the role of remembrance, memorialization and education in genocide prevention.

The resolution expresses concern that justification, biased accounts, or denial of genocide may increase the risk of the recurrence of violence.

The draft resolution requests the High Commissioner to organize an intersessional meeting on strengthening capacities for the prevention of genocide. The Council will also invite SG’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to an interactive dialogue.

President,

Armenia cherishes the international consensus on the need to mobilize our efforts to prevent the scourge of genocide. We believe that consensual adoption of this resolution would be the only right signal that we can send to the larger world today.

We would like to express our profound gratitude to all co-sponsors. We feel indebted to all Member States, especially for their constructive contribution to this process.

Thank you, President.

MFA RA
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