Armenia delegation to PACE: CoE Committee of Ministers launched unprecedented court case against Azerbaijan

December 6, 2017 By administrator

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) on Tuesday filed an unprecedented lawsuit with respect to Azerbaijan not carrying out the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Vice Chairperson Arpine Hovhannisyan, who also heads the NA delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), informed about the aforesaid on her Facebook page.

“The case was about to the unlawful conviction of well-known Azerbaijani oppositionist Ilgar Mammadov,” Hovhannisyan also wrote. “Starting in 2014, both the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly repeatedly adopted decisions and resolutions calling on the Azerbaijani authorities to set Mammadov free. But Mammadov continued to remain imprisoned even three years after the [respective] ECHR judgment.

“Azerbaijan was warned that if it did not carry out the ECHR decision by November 29, an investigation will be launched against it at the ECHR Grand Chamber.

“But even in the case of numerous warnings, Azerbaijani authorities preferred to sound false accusations, rather than carrying out the ECHR decision.”

Armenia is elected UNESCO committee member

November 11, 2017 By administrator

Armenia UNESCO committee member

YEREVAN. – Armenia has been elected member to an intergovernmental committee of the 1970 Convention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Elections for the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property (ICPRCP) to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation were conducted within the framework of the UNESCO General Conference being held at this organization’s headquarters in Paris, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

This committee is the intergovernmental body of UNESCO’s 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property

And from the Second Regional Group, which comprises Eastern European countries, Armenia was elected a member to this committee for four years.

In May 2015, Armenia was elected a member also to UNESCO’s Subsidiary Committee of the Meeting of States Parties to the 1970 Convention, and again for a four-year term.

U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee ensures continued funding to Artsakh

September 30, 2017 By administrator

The Senate Appropriations Committee adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bill, which ensures continued funding to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

The “Committee recommends assistance for the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in amounts consistent with prior fiscal years, and for ongoing needs related to the conflict.” The Committee urges a peaceful resolution to the conflict, which, given Azerbaijan’s recent and unprecedented attacks against Armenia and Artsakh, underscores the importance of implementing an accurate cease-fire monitoring system along the line of contact.

In the Assembly’s testimony earlier this year to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny urged robust funding for Artsakh to help meet the ongoing humanitarian and development needs for its people.

The Committee also adopted an amendment offered by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), which would prohibit arms sales to the Turkish Presidential Protection Directorate in light of the vicious attack by Turkey’s security detail in Washington, D.C. against peaceful protesters on May 17, 2017. Last week, 19 people, including 15 Turkish security officials, were indicted as a result of this attack in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit.

The bill also maintains Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, restating the six customary exemptions for humanitarian and other assistance to Azerbaijan. The Assembly continues to call for full enforcement of Section 907 given Azerbaijan’s hostile and aggressive actions against Armenians.

“The Armenian Assembly applauds the bipartisan work of the Senate Appropriations Committee and especially appreciates the efforts of Senator Van Hollen in helping to ensure continued funding to Artsakh. His leadership on critically important priorities for U.S. engagement in Armenia and Artsakh is vital, and we look forward to continuing our work with him during this critical time,” stated Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian.

“Moreover, with recent developments by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) shedding light on money laundering by President Ilham Aliyev and his family, known as the ‘The Azerbaijan Laundromat,’ we are seeing the exposure and rejection of caviar diplomacy done for years,” the Assembly Co-Chairs added.

As part of the Manager’s amendment package, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) included bill language on visa restrictions for Azeri officials “about whom the Secretary of State has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of Mehman Aliyev, the director of Turan, Azerbaijan’s last remaining independent news outlet.” Similarly, Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) included language regarding visa denial for Turkish officials involved in prolonging the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens in Turkey.

The bill also promotes international religious freedom and protection for persecuted religious minorities, particularly in the Middle East. The $25 million programs also includes $5 million for atrocities prevention programs.

UN committee warns Turkey over discrimination and human rights violations against Kurd, Arab, Christians

January 19, 2016 By administrator

n_94022_1 A United Nations committee has voiced concern over widespread violations of human rights in Turkey, particularly focusing on racial profiling of Kurdish citizens during the campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The U.N Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a body of independent experts working under the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and monitoring states’ implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, published its findings on Turkey last week.

The Committee said it is “concerned about reports that members belonging to the Kurdish community are discriminated against in the labor market and the unemployment rate of Kurdish women in particular remains high.”

“In the context of the fight against terrorism, the enforcement of anti-terrorism legislation and security-oriented policies have reportedly resulted in racial profiling of members of the Kurdish community,” it stated.

“Such legislation has been applied to curtail the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and association and led to the unwarranted arrest, detention and prosecution of Kurds. The Committee is further concerned at reports that a large number of Kurds live in the poorest and most remote provinces, often in poor economic and social conditions. Moreover, the Committee is concerned about reports of limited access to education for Kurdish children, including in their mother tongue,” the report added.

With regards to Syrian and Iraqi refugees, it noted efforts made by Turkey “to protect the human rights of the large number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees that it is hosting in its territory.”

“However, the Committee is concerned at reports that Syrian and Iraqi refugees face challenges, despite measures adopted by the State party, such as: being at risk of racial discrimination; the inadequate living conditions of Syrian refugees; a lack of work permits; reported violence against and trafficking in Syrian refugee women in camps; and insufficient access to education for some Syrian refugee children, including in their mother tongue,” the report stated.

Recommendations

While touching on several other issues, including the situation of Roma-origin citizens in Turkey, the committee also made a series of recommendations.

Regarding the Kurds, the Committee recommended that Ankara focus on addressing economic and political inequalities.

“[Turkey should] pursue and strengthen its measures to address inequalities faced by members of the Kurdish community in gaining access to economic, social and cultural rights on an equal footing with the rest of the population; adopt special measures to promote access by members of the Kurdish community, including women, to the labor market; ensure that its anti-terrorism legislation does not result in racial profiling or violations of the rights of freedom of expression or association or other rights protected by the Convention … intensify its efforts to combat disparities that exist between the Kurdish provinces and the rest of its territory; and improve the access of Kurdish children in schools, including by promoting teaching in their mother tongue.”

On Syrians and Iraqis, the Committee recommended that Turkey “pursue efforts to strengthen measures with a view to improving the reception conditions of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.”

“In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party: effectively protect Syrian and Iraqi refugees from racial discrimination, including incitement to hatred; grant work permits, as appropriate, to refugees under the special temporary program set up by the State party; increase its efforts to ensure that all refugee children have access to education, including in their mother tongue; strengthen its fight against the trafficking in and violence against refugee women in camps; and ensure the effective application of the new Law on Foreigners and International Protection,” the report added.

January/19/2016

Paris: International Scientific Committee for the study of the Armenian Genocide

March 9, 2015 By administrator

Cover of the book The Armenian Genocide, a century of research (1915-2015)

The international conference organized by the International Scientific Council for the study of the Armenian Genocide (CSI) “Genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the Great War. 1915-2015: one hundred years of research “will be held in Paris from 25 to 28 March 2015 under the patronage of the President of the Republic, François Hollande.

Syllabus

Wednesday, March 25

Grand Amphitheatre of the Sorbonne, 76 rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris

4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Official speeches and messages of support

Inaugural lecture by Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur, President of the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences and Yves Ternon, historian, member of the Scientific Council of the Holocaust Memorial, president of CSI

Thursday, March 26

Memorial of the Shoah, 17 rue Geoffroy The Asnier, 75004 Paris

10h-12h30 – First Panel: Space-time, the steps of the genocidal process

Chair: Catherine Nicault, historian, University of Reims. Discussant: Stephan Astourian, historian, UC Berkeley

The legacy of Abdülhamid II by Janet Klein, Historian, University of Akron.
The Ottoman opposition, the Committee of Union and Progress and the 1908 revolution Erdal Kaynar, historian, Polonsky Academy of the Van Leer Institute, EHESS.
The “European Concert” and reforms in the eastern provinces, 1878-1914 by Claire Mouradian, historian, CNRS.
The Organization for Special Sait Cetinoglu, historian, Free University of Ankara.
The entrance of the Ottoman Empire in the war, 1914-1915 by Mustafa Aksakal, historian, Georgetown University.

12h30-13h30: lunch

13h30-15h – Second Panel: Perpetrators, Victims, Rescuers

Chair: Richard Hovannisian, historian, UCLA. Discussant: Vincent Duclert, historian, EHESS.

The first phase of the Destruction: Deportations and Massacres (April-August 1015) by Raymond Kevorkian, historian, University of Paris VIII.
The second phase of genocide KM-historian, Rutgers University.
Forced conversions by Umit Kurt, historian, Sabancı University.

15h-15h15: Pause

15h15-16h20 – Third Panel -: Witnesses

Chair: Wolfgang Gust, journalist. Discussant: Ara Sarafian, historian, Gomidas Institute.

European and American witnesses by Hans-Lukas Kieser, historian, University of Zurich.
Armenian witnesses Amatuni Virabyan, historian, State Archives of Armenia.

16h20-16h30: pause

16h30-19h – Fourth Panel: The other Empire minorities

Chair: Gérard Chaliand, geostrategist. Discussant: Laurent-Olivier Mallet, historian, University of Montpellier.

The Jews of the Ottoman Empire in the late nineteenth ^century by Georges Bensoussan, historian, the Holocaust Memorial.
The complexity of the genocide of the Assyrian-Chaldeans by David Gaunt, a historian, Centre for Baltic and East European University of Soedertoern.
The Ottoman Greeks by Sia Anagnostopoulou, historian, University of Athens.
Kurdish-Yezidi-Armenians, many facets of a community in exile (s) by Estelle Amy of Bretèque, anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, CNRS.

Friday, March 27

EHESS, 105 Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris

10h-12h30 – Fifth Panel: Logic of war, economic, ideological

Chair: Joël Kotek, a political scientist, historian, University of Brussels. Discussant: Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, historian, EHESS.

Ideological, demographic and economic logic of genocide by Hamit Bozarslan, political scientist, historian, EHESS.
The logic of pre-genocidal massacres by Vincent Duclert, historian, EHESS.
The world in turmoil: waves of refugees and massacres in the occupied northern Persia (1914-1918) by PeterHolquist, historian, University of Pennsylvania.
The mechanisms of decision making of the Young Turk leadership (1913-1915) by Erik-Jan Zürcher, historian, University of Leiden.
The confiscation of Armenian property during the genocide by Mehmet Polatel, historian, Koç University.

12h30-13h30: lunch

13h30-16h – Sixth Panel: International Relations and Criminal Law

Chair: Peter Mertens, lawyer, Sociology of Literature Centre, Free University of Brussels. Discussant: Vincent Nioré, lawyer and president of the Institute for Criminal Law

The trials of Constantinople (1919-1920) by Mikaël Nichanian, historian, National Library of France.
The breakdown of consensus. The Perinçek case, the Armenian genocide and international criminal law by Sevane Garibian, lawyer, Universities of Geneva and Neuchâtel.
The status of Armenian stateless refugees and international action of the League of Nations and the International Labour Office by Dzovinar Kevonian, historian, Institute for Political Social Sciences, University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense
Raphael Lemkin, the extermination of the Armenians and the invention of the word genocide by Annette Becker, historian, University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense
Lemkin and the Armenian genocide, a legal play by Olivier Beauvallet, international judge.

16h-16h15: Pause

16h15-18h20 – Seventh Panel: historiography, a new research field

Chair: Michel Marian, philosopher, Institute of Political Studies in Paris. Discussant: Edhem Eldem, historian, Boğaziçi University.

The historiography of the Armenian genocide, a new field of research by Gaïdz Minassian, journalist and political scientist, Institute of Political Studies in Paris.
Reflections on Ottoman historiography (years 1960-1990) about the role of non-Muslims and Ottoman Armenians in commerce and the urban economy by Stephan Astourian, historian, University of Berkeley.
Ottoman governors opposed to deportations and massacres of Armenians by Ayhan Aktar, historian, Bilgi University.
The speech of Turkey on the genocide of Armenians by Jennifer Dixon, political scientist, Villanova University.

18h20-18h30: Pause

18h30-20h30 – Eighth Panel: Perspectives on clearing trails or the Armenian ghost

Chair: Patrick Donabedian, art historian, University of Aix-Marseille. Discussant: Antoine Spire, journalist, vice president of Lycra.

The permanence of traces of the 1915 genocide in the Armenian memory; role of politics in their registration or erasure by Janine Altounian, essayist, translator, Freud specialist.
Confiscation and destruction of property by Armenian Dickran Kouymjian, historian, California State University.
After photograph by Pascaline Marre, photographer and Anouche Kunth, historian, CNRS.
Aram Andonian, the Nubar library and the creation of a heritage in exile after the destruction of Ottoman Armenians by Boris Adjemian, historian, Library Nubar AGBU.

Saturday, March 28

National Library of France, Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris

10h-12h30 – Ninth Panel: Memory, transmission, history, negation

Chair: Henry Rousso, historian, CNRS. Discussant: Claude Mutafian historian.

The sacrifice, witness and forgiveness: The Candidate Zareh Vorpouni by Marc Nichanian, professor of philosophy, Sabancı University.
Gender, genocide survival. Islamized Armenians new working memory Ayşe Gül Altinay, anthropologist, Sabancı University.
The teaching of genocide: European examples Alban Perrin, historian, the Holocaust Memorial, Institute of Political Studies in Bordeaux.
The Founding Myths of Turkish denial by Büşra Ersanli, political scientist, University of Marmara.
The memory of the genocide in Turkey Armenians by Hira Kaynar, historian, EHESS.

12h30-13h30: lunch

13h30-15h: Tenth Panel: Features & comparatismes, I

Chairman: Jean-Pierre Chrétien, historian, CNRS. Discussant: Meir Waintrater journalist.

Genocidal thinking: a comparative perspective by Dominik Schaller, historian, University of Heidelberg.
The genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks by the Ottomans by Roger Smith, historian, College of William and Mary.
The Armenian Genocide in the light of a general theory of genocide by Bernard Bruneteau, Professor of Political Science, University of Rennes I.

15.00-15.15: Pause

15h15-17h – Eleventh Panel: Features & comparatismes, II

Chair: Claire Mouradian, historian, CNRS. Discussant: Yves Ternon, historian, member of the Scientific Council of the Shoah Memorial.

Singularity of the Holocaust by Christian Ingrao, historian, CNRS.
Singularity of the famine in Ukraine by Nicolas Werth, historian, CNRS.
Singularity of the genocide of Tutsis by Helene Dumas, historian, EHESS.

17h00-17h15: pause

5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Closing Conference

Chair: Gaïdz Minassian, journalist and political scientist, Institute of Political Studies in Paris.

Symposium balance by Raymond Kevorkian, historian, University of Paris VIII.
1915 and the social sciences by Taner Akcam, historian, University of Clarke.
Turkism and pan-Turkism by Erik-Jan Zürcher, historian, University of Leiden.
The contemporary revisionism and its defenders Richard Hovannisian, historian, UCLA.
The outlook from the perspective of international justice by Nicholas Koumjian, prosecutor at the international courts.
The publication of research on the Armenian genocide in Turkey by Ragıp Zarakolu, editor.

Practical information

Registration by email within the limit of available seats.

Founding members of the CSI

Annette Becker, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Paris-Ouest Nanterre La Défense), member of the Institut Universitaire de France.

Hamit Bozarslan, historian, political scientist, director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).

Vincent Duclert, historian, lecturer and researcher at the Center for Sociological and Political Studies Raymond Aron (EHESS).

Raymond Kevorkian, historian, emeritus director of research at the French Institute of Geopolitics, University of Paris VIII.

Gaïdz Minassian, journalist, doctor of political science lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris.

Claire Mouradian, historian, research director at the CNRS.

Mikaël Nichanian, historian, curator at the National Library of France, associate researcher at the College de France.

Yves Ternon, historian, member of the Scientific Council of the Shoah Memorial, President of CSI.