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Armenia: Artsvik Minasyan met with the officers of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations /FAO/

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

On April 5 RA Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan had a meeting with Raimund Jehle, FAO Representative in Armenia. Assistant FAO Representative Gayane Nasoyan, Chairman of  State Committee of  Forest the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia Mikayel Manukyan, Deputy Chairman of State Committee of  Forest Ruben Petrosyan, Director of the RA MNP “Environmental Project Implementation Unit” State Institution  Meruzhan Galstyan and Head of Department of International Cooperation of the RA MNP Staff Ruzanna Grigoryan participated in the meeting. The meeting took a note of the issues regarding forest management and reforestation projects.

Minister Minasyan greeted the cooperation with FAO and stressed that the expectations  being accomplished in forestry reform are great and the continued collective work alongside the FAO can be a guarantee for achieving best results.

Raimund Jehle expressed satisfaction with the work conducted over the project in cooperation with the Ministry of Nature Protection of RA. The FAO Representative signified that due to the consistent work, “Ensuring Sustainability of Forests in Armenia Through Promotion of Adaptation and Mitigation of Rural Green Growth” bid submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will be elaborated, including the suggestions of  the Ministry. The issues concerning the capacity building of experts for the RA MNP EPIU and  project fulfillment, forest conservation regime, well-defined community resource management and eco-education were considered at the meeting. Afterwards, the sides reaffirmed their willingness directed to the continuity of fruitful and high level joint activities.

Aliyev lies before the whole world at United Nations speech in New York

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By Harut Sassounian

There were plenty of Azeri commentators and officials who criticized Pres. Sargsyan’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly last week, but I did not come across any Armenian commentators or government leaders who attacked Pres. Aliyev’s ugly speech at the U.N. on Sept. 20.

The Azeri President’s lengthy remarks were full of lies and distortions: let’s try to set the record straight on some of them.

The first line of Aliyev’s speech starts with a usual exaggeration and untruth, stating that “Armenia occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions of the country.” The truth is that Armenia does not occupy any Azeri territory. Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) was never a part of Azerbaijan. It was an autonomous Armenian-inhabited region gifted to Azerbaijan by Soviet dictator Stalin in 1923. The Armenian population of Artsakh finally liberated themselves after decades of brutal Azeri occupation. Furthermore, the Azeri claim that Armenia occupies 20% of Azerbaijan is false, as the region liberated by Armenians is around 15%, not 20%.

Pres. Aliyev then proceeds to state: “Nagorno-Karabakh is an ancient and historical part of Azerbaijan.” This is a complete lie as Azerbaijan did not exist historically as a state. It was created in 1918 with the help of the Turkish army.

Aliyev’s next big lie is that there are one million Azeri “refugees and internally displaced persons” as a result of Armenian military action. First of all, it is not one million, but several hundred thousand, just like there were several hundred thousand Armenian refugees as a result of Azeri pogroms and ethnic cleansing. If there were a large number of Azeri refugees 25 years later still living in muddy camps, this is the fault only of the Azeri government which earns billions of petrodollars annually and does not spend any of these funds to resettle these refugees in comfortable homes! Furthermore, as we have seen in recent European publications, Azeri leaders, particularly the Aliyev family and its cronies, have stolen billions of dollars from the state oil revenues to pay for their lavish life-styles or bribe officials around the world to cover up their persistent violations of human rights. Yet, the President of Azerbaijan is not ashamed to proclaim that his country has “absolute transparency, zero tolerance to corruption and bribery.”

Aliyev then repeats the biggest lie about the so-called “Khojaly genocide” of 600 Azerbaijanis by Armenian troops during the Artsakh war. There are various versions of what exactly took place in Khojaly during that conflict, including Azeri soldiers blocking the escape routes of their own population who were then trapped and became war casualties. But even if there were a shred of evidence that 600 Azeris died during that conflict, which would be unfortunate, Azerbaijan shamelessly denies the Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey starting in 1915, and yet has no qualms of perpetuating the lie that the deaths of 600 Azeris were a genocide!
Pres. Aliyev continues his series of lies, claiming that Armenia was the one that attacked Azerbaijan in April 2016. The whole world knows that Azerbaijan was the initiator of that attack. Exposing his own lie, he warns that Azerbaijan will attack again!
Aliyev then boasts that Azerbaijan in 2011 was elected as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with 155 countries voting in favor. What Pres. Aliyev neglects to mention is that most of these votes were secured by lavish gifts to the U.N. Ambassadors, as we had exposed in my weekly column in 2011.

The President of Azerbaijan shamelessly proclaims from the U.N. podium that the “development of democracy and human rights protection are among the top priorities of our government. All fundamental freedoms are fully provided in Azerbaijan, including freedom of expression, media freedom, freedom of Assembly, religious freedom.” Everyone knows that Azerbaijan is a dictatorship with corrupt leaders, and that its jails are full of human rights activists and independent journalists!

Aliyev then goes on to announce that “representatives of all ethnic groups and religions live in Azerbaijan in peace and harmony.” Besides Armenians, who were victims of ethnic cleansing and are potential victims of a new Azeri Genocide in Artsakh, there are many other minorities in the country who are routinely discriminated against and jailed. Calling Azerbaijan a democracy and “one of the world’s most recognized centers of multiculturalism,” is an outrageous statement!

The string of lies, distortions and exaggerations is so long in Pres. Aliyev’s U.N. speech that one needs to write an entire book to expose all of his falsehoods!

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Armenia: Azerbaijan has no ground to present any claims towards Karabakh

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President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia on Tuesday attended the 72nd session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Also, the President delivered a statement at the general debate of this event, and this statement runs as follows:

Distinguished President of the General Assembly,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I congratulate and wish success to Mr. Miroslav Lajčák upon his election as the President of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly.

I avail myself of this opportunity and congratulate anew Mr. António Guterres upon his election to the office of the UN Secretary General. Distinguished Mr. Secretary General, we wish you success in carrying out your important mission. The priorities you declared enjoy Armenia’s support.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 2017 we marked the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s accession to the United Nations. On March 2, 1992 the Armenian tricolor flaunted at this headquarters of the United Nations family as a logical and sought for outcome of the exercise by our people of its fundamental right to self-determination.

Over the years, Armenia has become a fully-fledged and responsible member of the international community. There had been numerous challenges in before of us, and we withstood them with dignity. The most important and intricate one was the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

It is for the fifth time that I have an opportunity to speak from this eminent podium and again I am compelled to address the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. I should have rather preferred to talk of peace, progress and cooperation, but unfortunately we are not there yet. Hence, it is my duty to explain why we are so much away from that desirable stage.

The new phase of the struggle for self-determination by the people of Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] began almost 30 years ago. The peaceful calls by the Armenians of Artsakh to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination as well as every step to that effect was met by use force, to which Azerbaijan continuously resorted to.

The policy of the official Baku culminated in the massacres, ethnic cleansing and mass deportation of the Armenian population of Azerbaijan. Once flourishing Armenian-populated districts in their entirety have been wiped out of the Armenians, and the Government of Azerbaijan continues with its policy of systematic destruction of the vast Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage on the territories under its control.

It is obvious that, under such circumstances, the people of Artsakh were left with no other choice than to resort to self-defense. The grievous war of 1992-1994, its aftermath and negotiations that followed did not serve as a lesson for Azerbaijan. Last year in April, Azerbaijan unleashed a four-day war, which came to prove that Azerbaijan pursues the objective of extermination of the people of Artsakh.

In the course of the military offensive unleashed in 2016, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan committed a number of war crimes against civilian population and the prisoners of war. Here I am compelled to mention that a serviceman who committed such atrocities has been decorated with a high state award, and the President of Azerbaijan personally decorated him in front of the cameras.

Distinguished Mr. President,

It has been for years that hate speech and Armenophobia was made part and parcel of the Azerbaijan’s state policy. It has taken deep root in the school curricula, intoxicating the younger generation. It has been for years that a number of inter-governmental and non-governmental specialized organizations dealing with racism and xenophobia have been ringing alarm bells about it.

All of these leads us to believe that the exercise of the right to self-determination by the people of Artsakh is of existential significance. In this regard, I convey the consolidated view of Armenia and Artsakh as well as the one shared by Armenians from all over the globe. I bring this message from Yerevan, where right now Armenia-Diaspora conference is taking place.

Everyone should be aware that for the democratically developing Artsakh Azerbaijan simply symbolizes medieval backwardness. Azerbaijan has got no legal or moral ground whatsoever to present any claims towards Artsakh. Artsakh has never been part to independent Azerbaijan, and therefore the attempts of its annexation to that particular state framework cannot be justified.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today free Artsakh is an established democratic society. Our shared motto and commitment of “Leaving no one behind” should be the milestone guiding the work of the United Nations family. It is exactly for that reason, I believe, that people of Artsakh should never be isolated from the implementation of the sustainable development goals.

I strongly believe that the unresolved status of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should have no impact on the people of Artsakh as they exercise their rights. It is, first and foremost, about inalienable rights for any human being. It is about the right to life, the right to organize public life, the right to form freely one’s own government, the right to communicate unimpededly with the outer world, and many other rights.

Armenia consistently contributes and will contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the people of Artsakh, its sustainable and democratic development. No one has a right to create hindrances to the implementation of initiatives and projects to that effect. The legal status of Artsakh, or, to be more precise, the lack of the international legal recognition, is not and cannot constitute an obstacle for the women and men who live there to exercise their rights.

We strongly believe that there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Right now, from this eminent podium, I reiterate our commitment to that effect.

Meanwhile, everyone should be aware that the Nagorno Karabakh issue is a human rights issue. It can be resolved exclusively through one of the fundamental and inalienable human rights – the people’s right to self-determination.

At the end of the day, whatever option for the conflict resolution we arrive at, the Republic of Artsakh should not enjoy a status and liberty that might be inferior to the one it enjoys today. Azerbaijan shall recognize and respect the right of the people of Artsakh to decide its own future through a free expression of will. All available international and domestic mechanisms should guarantee the security of the Armenian population of Artsakh.

All remaining issues are collateral. All remaining issues will find their logical and fair solution in parallel to the general resolution process.

Distinguished Mr. President,

When I last time spoke from this eminent podium and addressed the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, I considered it my duty to express our gratitude one by one to all nations that recognized the horrendous crime that was committed against my people in the Ottoman Empire.

It is my duty to express gratitude from this eminent podium of Honor and Responsibility to all those countries that have recognized or reiterated their position on the Armenian Genocide.

I thank them for it, regardless of the format and language adopted.

I thank the numerous countries and individuals, state bodies, regional entities and organizations, who called things by their proper names. That is, indeed, important since denial paves the way for new crimes of genocide.

In this context, we recall that next year the family of the United Nations will mark the 70th anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Armenia will bring up a new initiative upon that occasion, and we invite all to join us and defend that initiative.

We, nevertheless, have never made the recognition of the Armenian Genocide a precondition for the normalization of the bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey. Moreover, it was upon the initiative of Armenia that a normalization process was launched, resulting in the conclusion of the Zürich protocols in October 2009.

Up to this day, those documents have not been ratified, instead, they have landed in some dark drawers of the official Ankara. The Government of Turkey came up with preposterous preconditions for their ratification that run counter to the letter and spirit of the Protocols. I expressed the clear-cut views of the Armenian people on this issue three years ago, when I spoke from this eminent podium.

Now the time has come for additional explanations. The leadership of Turkey are mistaken if they think that those documents can be held hostage forever and ratified only at the most opportune occasion from their very point of view. The Protocols were negotiated in the existing circumstances in order to find solutions to the actually existing issues.

Armenia will declare those two Protocols null and void since they continuously lacked any positive progress towards their implementation. We will enter the spring of 2018 without those, as our experience has demonstrated, futile Protocols.

Armenia, nevertheless, continues to believe that any two neighboring states need to establish and enjoy normal relations in order to address all possible disagreements between them and find solutions to such a discord.

This is the conviction we are guided by in our engagement with various integration processes. Today, Armenia is an active member of the Eurasian Economic Union and with its active work spares no effort in order to contribute to the unimpeded movement of goods and services in that large economic area and, hence, contribute to and promote welfare for all. We have already registered certain achievements in that regard, and that makes us feel hopeful for future. We also plan to conclude this November Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with European Union, which, in our view, will help us to give a new impetus to the institutional reforms implemented in Armenia.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

The current instability in the Middle East regretfully remains as a serious challenge.

It is with great pain that we have been following the crisis in Syria and the humanitarian situation there, which has brought about suffering of the civilian population, including the Armenian community of the country. Within its means, Armenia strives to mitigate the suffering of the Syrian people by providing humanitarian assistance. We also express our willingness to engage into possible discussions on the peacemaking efforts in Syria under the UN auspices and with an appropriate mandate.

Distinguished Mr. President,

I have no doubt that our family of the United Nations is able to guarantee a new quality of cooperation that will allow us to withstand the contemporary global and regional challenges. It is with that objective in mind that Armenia participates in a number of the UN peacekeeping operations. Moreover, we stand ready to increase our contribution in Lebanon and Mali to UNIFIL and MINUSMA missions, respectively.

Armenia, as a landlocked country located in the complicated region, a country with scarce natural resources, has continuously emphasized that human capital is its most valuable resource. It is, indeed, correct both for Armenia and for our whole family of the United Nations: we should focus on people, we should strive for peace and a decent life for all, on a sustainable planet.

United Nations: ‘Alarming’ Reports of Military Violations in Turkey

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Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, High Commissioner of Human Rights at the United Nations

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, High Commissioner of Human Rights at the United Nations

(Big News Network)—The United Nations chief said in a press release a succession of alarming reports about violations allegedly committed by the Turkish military and security forces in south-east Turkey over the past few months, and urged the Turkish authorities to give independent investigators, including UN staff, unimpeded access to the area to verify the veracity of such reports.

“More and more information has been emerging from a variety of credible sources about the actions of security forces in the town of Cizre during the extended curfew there from mid-December until early March,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra”ad Al Hussein, said in a press release.

He added that the picture that is emerging, although still sketchy, is “extremely alarming,” and strongly condemned violence and other unlawful acts committed by the youth groups and other non-state agents, allegedly affiliated with the PKK, in Cizre and other areas.

“I regret any loss of life as a result of terrorist acts wherever they have occurred,” Mr. Zeid said. “However, while Turkey has a duty to protect its population from acts of violence, it is essential that the authorities respect human rights at all times while undertaking security or counter-terrorism operations ” and international law prohibiting torture, extrajudicial killings, disproportionate use of lethal force and arbitrary detention must be observed.”

The High Commissioner said he had received reports of unarmed civilians “including women and children” being deliberately shot by snipers, or by gunfire from tanks and other military vehicles.

“There also appears to have been massive, and seemingly highly disproportionate, destruction of property and key communal infrastructure ” including buildings hit by mortar or shellfire, and damage inflicted on the contents of individual apartments and houses taken over by security forces,” he said. “There are also allegations of arbitrary arrests, and of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, as well as reports that in some situations ambulances and medical staff were prevented from reaching the wounded.”

On top of all this, he noted that there has been huge displacement triggered by the curfews and by subsequent fighting, shelling, killings and arrests in many places in the south-east.

“Most disturbing of all,” the High Commissioner said, “are the reports quoting witnesses and relatives in Cizre which suggest that more than 100 people were burned to death as they sheltered in three different basements that had been surrounded by security forces.”

“All these allegations, including those leveled at the groups fighting against the security forces, are extremely serious and should be thoroughly investigated, but do not appear to have been so far,” Zeid said. “The Turkish Government has not responded positively to requests by my Office and other parts of the United Nations to visit the region to collect information first-hand.”

The UN Human Rights Chief noted that more information has emerged from Cizre compared to other districts, towns and villages in the south-east “including Silopi, Nusaybin and the Sur district of Diyarbakir, the main city in the region” which were sealed off for weeks on end, and are still next to impossible to access, because of the heavy security presence.

“In 2016, to have such a lack of information about what is happening in such a large and geographically accessible area is both extraordinary and deeply worrying,” Mr. Zeid said. “This black-out simply fuels suspicions about what has been going on. I therefore renew my call for access for UN staff and other impartial observers and investigators, including civil society organizations and journalists.”

Noting alarm bells rung by other international human rights entities in recent weeks, Mr. Zeid called for a prompt investigation and prosecution of all those suspected of being involved in violations of the right to life, including extrajudicial killings and disproportional use of lethal force, and stressed that the judiciary should act independently from all other branches of the State, including the military and the Executive.

He also called on the Turkish authorities to allow the return of all those who have been forcibly displaced, and urged them to ensure that, in future, curfews are limited to the minimum duration necessary and with due concern for human rights obligations and humanitarian considerations.

The High Commissioner noted Turkey’s continued engagement with UN human rights bodies, including the recent visit of UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the recent review of the country”s record by the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and the ongoing review by the UN Committee against Torture which will issue its concluding observations on 13 May.

UN Observes First International Day of Remembrance of Genocide Victims

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ungenocideUNITED NATIONS (Public Radio of Armenia)—Armenia’s Mission at the United Nations co-hosted the first ever observance of the International Day of Remembrance of Genocide, an effort which was successfully adopted by international body due to the efforts of Armenia.

Attended by a large number of representatives of UN member states and observers, international organizations, think-tanks, civil society organizations and media, as well as members of Armenian-American community and school students, the meeting in observance of the International Day began with a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of genocide. Opening remarks were delivered by the President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Jan Eliasson and the Ambassador and Armenia’s Ambassador to the UN Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The panel featured the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Mr. Adama Dieng, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence Pablo de Greiff, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice David Tolbert and First Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Assistant Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University Prof. Elisa von-Joeden-Forgey. Statements on behalf of the UN member states were delivered by Chairpersons of regional groups.

In his remarks, Mnatsakanyan noted that the International Day established pursuant to the UNGA Resolution 69/323 of September 11, 2015, calls for a manifestation of a collective sense of a duty before all victims of the crime of genocide. He reconfirmed Armenia’s commitment to promote and support international efforts to underpin the significance of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and to consistently and resolutely construct rigid foundations for prevention. In this regard, the Ambassador of Armenia recalled the unanimous adoption of the respective resolutions initiated by Armenia and adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council earlier this year, expressing appreciation to all the partners for their unwavering support. He recalled that in April 2015 Armenia hosted a Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide.

Referring to the remarks by the President of the General Assembly and the Deputy Secretary General, who had stated earlier that by honoring the memory of the victims of the Genocide, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to prevent this horrendous crime, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan noted that the International Day would render dignity to the victims of past inaction and would help reclaim justice. Mnatsakanyan further remarked that 9 December would not merely mark the adoption of a landmark international legal instrument, but also send a powerful message to ignite political, legal and moral responsibility “for defying and ultimately halting the repetitive nature of this crime”, as a “moral and political imperative” to consistently elaborate a rigid system of prevention.

“Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it”, stressed the Ambassador of Armenia, suggesting that, to eliminate genocidal tendencies, it will be imperative to analyze the causation of past cases, and that “every pattern of discrimination, every violation of rights affecting vulnerable groups, every exclusionary ideology, climate of impunity, denial of genocide and hate speech, as well as incitement to violence” are exactly compelling early signs, which beg early action.

The panelists elaborated on the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, empirical analysis of genocidal patterns, and their relationship to long-term prevention, the importance of memorialization and dignity of genocide victims, their right to remedies and reparations, guarantees of non-recurrence and accountability, the links between genocide and other human rights violations, and prevention and punishment of genocide.

The UN Secretary-General issued a message on the first observance of this International Day, calling upon the international community “to recognize the need to work more concertedly to protect individuals from gross human rights violations and uphold our common humanity”. The event, which also featured musical performance by the UN Symphony Orchestra, was widely publicized in the UN, as well as in local and international media. The UN Department of Public Information launched a social media campaign “‪‎GenocideVictimsDay” and “‪‎PreventGenocide”, a special slogan (“Remember the Victims Prevent Genocide”) and logo for the International Day.

Upon the initiative of Armenia, in September 2015, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution A/RES/69/323 proclaiming this International Day, which encourages all Member and Observer States, all organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations and individuals to observe the International Day in order to raise awareness of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as well as to commemorate and honor its victims. It acknowledges that victims of this crime call for a form of memorialization, which plays an important role in the prevention of genocide. 9 December also marks the day of the adoption of the Convention in 1948. The resolution 69/323 followed up on another important resolution, initiated by Armenia and adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2015 which recommended to the UN General Assembly to proclaim such International Day. These resolutions and the first observance event add to the continued efforts of Armenia to promote consolidated international action against the crime of genocide.

Samantha Power to visits Turkey for Syria talks

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ANKARA The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and President Barack Obama’s key foreign policy aide, Samantha Power, will visit Turkey this week to discuss the n_67640_1Syrian crisis and other regional issues, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials have told the Hürriyet Daily News. As part of her regional trip, Ambassador Power will hold talks in Istanbul, meeting Deputy Undersecretary Ömer Önhon on June 12, before visiting a refugee camp for Syrians in the southern province of Gaziantep. The situation in Syria will be high up the agenda during talks in the Foreign Ministry, along with a number of other regional issues, a Turkish official said. Power served as Special Assistant to Obama and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on the National Security Staff at the White House, prior to serving as U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N.

June/10/2014

Samantha Power to visits Turkey for Syria talks

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ANKARA

The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and President Barack Obama’s key foreign policy aide, Samantha Power, will visit Turkey this week to discuss the n_67640_1Syrian crisis and other regional issues, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials have told the Hürriyet Daily News.

As part of her regional trip, Ambassador Power will hold talks in Istanbul, meeting Deputy Undersecretary Ömer Önhon on June 12, before visiting a refugee camp for Syrians in the southern province of Gaziantep. The situation in Syria will be high up the agenda during talks in the Foreign Ministry, along with a number of other regional issues, a Turkish official said.

Power served as Special Assistant to Obama and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on the National Security Staff at the White House, prior to serving as U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N.

June/10/2014