Statements

Statement on the Continued Denialist Rhetoric of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

January 30, 2025

At the risk of being accused of being a “Dashnak” organization, taking Russian money, and circulating “fake news” by some Armenians, including notably the Zoryan Institute, which demanded last year that we apologize to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after suggesting that he was engaging in cryptic genocide denial, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security once again calls attention to Prime Minister Pashinyan’s recent statements on the Armenian Genocide, which further echo Turkish denialist narratives. His senseless statements ignore the decades of historical research on the Armenian Genocide conducted by Turkish, German, British, American, and Armenian scholars, among others, stand in the way of the ongoing struggle for justice for the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and create a dangerous geopolitical dynamic, especially in the context of Azerbaijan’s recent genocide of Artsakh Armenians and its ongoing threats to the Republic of Armenia.

Statement on the Fall of Bashar al-Assad’s Regime in Syria

January 21, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security stands in solidarity with the Syrian people as they mark the end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a brutal chapter in Syria’s history characterized by relentless human rights violations and profound suffering.

Statement on the Recent Pakistani Airstrike in Afghanistan

January 20, 2025

The Lemkin Institute expresses its profound concern and condemnation regarding the recent airstrikes undertaken by Pakistan in Afghanistan's Paktika province. The December 25 strikes, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 46 individuals, including women and children, constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Statement Opposing Genocidal Anti-Trans Bills in Alberta, Canada

December 3, 2024

The Albertan United Conservative Party (UCP) Government in Canada introduced three bills directly targeting transgender youth in Alberta’s legislature on 31 October 2024. The Lemkin Institute condemns these bills as genocidal in nature and supports the legal challenges already planned by Egale and Skipping Stone Foundation, two Canadian organizations which advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ rights and freedoms. The Assembly of First Nations 2SLGBTQQIA+ Council has also released a statement opposing the bills. Alberta’s proposed legislation is a threat to the identities, lives, and wellbeing of all trans individuals living within Alberta, especially young ones. 

Statement on US President Joe Biden’s Apology for Native American Boarding Schools and Its Implications for the World At Large

November 25 2024

As Americans sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security reflects upon the larger history of this holiday. We commend US President Joe Biden’s recent formal apology to Native American communities for the traumatic boarding schools that were part of official US policy for over 150 years. “The federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened, until today,” Biden said in a speech on October 26 at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona. “I formally apologize as President of the United States of America for what we did. I formally apologize.”

1000 Days of Resilience: Reflecting on the War in Ukraine

November 19, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security mourns the Ukrainian and Russian lives lost in this terrible war and genocide and stands in firm solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their efforts to protect their identity from erasure. 1000 days are 1000 too many.

A Note on Recent Criticism of the Lemkin Institute

November 16, 2024

2024 has been a difficult year for genocide prevention, and as the work of The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security (LIGPHS) has gained greater prominence, we must address several recent attacks on the character of our work and staff. Our mission is clear and we hope to clarify charges from Azeri media and from two bloggers for pro-Israel outlets, who accuse us of “besmirching” Raphael Lemkin’s name. We have always sought, and continue to welcome, further communication with any and all members of the Lemkin family. While we may disagree, we remain steadfast in our mission and in our support of Raphael Lemkin’s legacy.

Statement on Genocide and the US Presidential Election

November 4, 2024

Citizens in the USA will be heading out to their polling places tomorrow to cast their in-person votes for US president. While many issues are of concern for American voters, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security wishes to take note of the dispiriting promotion of genocide that has characterized this year’s presidential campaigns. The American people are faced with two main parties that have endorsed genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh and Israel, and one — the Republican Party — that has used genocidal language towards specific populations throughout the campaign.

Condemnation of Ecocide and Cultural Genocide in Palestine

November 3, 2024

Joint Statement from Doctors Against Genocide and the Lemkin Institute

The olive harvest is one of the most important times of the year for Palestinians, representing sustenance, tradition, resilience, and cultural identity. Recently, we continue to receive heartbreaking reports from West Bank villages of olive trees destroyed and harvests stolen, impacting entire communities. Alongside these acts, there have been incidents where those lovingly gathering olives were detained or obstructed.
For generations, olive trees have provided Palestinian families with food, income, and a deep connection to their land. Destroying these trees is not merely an attack on property—it is an assault on life, culture, and heritage. The systematic targeting of olive trees and land constitutes ecocide and cultural genocide: an intentional effort to erase the natural resources, heritage, and identity of a people.

Statement on US Media Responses to the Deaths of US Citizens in Israel-Palestine

November 1, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has been surprised by the widespread, apparently systemic, dehumanization of Palestinians within the Western Press, particularly in the United States. Nowhere has this been more clear to us than in the reporting on the deaths of American citizens in the region. The deaths of citizens who are believed to be killed by Hamas are mourned as national tragedies; the deaths of citizens believed to be killed by Israel are mentioned, if at all, as accidents worthy only of private mourning. We protest this inhumane and nihilist discriminatory approach to human life, which bodes poorly for all human beings in the future.

Rudy Giuliani’s Anti-Palestinian Racism: Incitement to Genocide and child murder.

— Joint Statement from Doctors Against Genocide and the Lemkin Institute

October 30th, 2024

Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemn recent remarks by Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a loyal Trump confidante, who claimed over the weekend that “[the Palestinians are taught to kill us at two years old.” He made this claim during a speech supporting former president Donald Trump, who is running for a second presidential term.

We Must Continue with Outrage: Statement on Israel’s Assaults on Hospitals and Safe Zones

October 25th, 2024


In the past day Israel has attacked the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Mashrou Bait Lahia (North Gaza) with artillery and a ground invasion. This is one of the last three hospitals in northern Gaza. Israel destroyed the hospital’s intensive care unit as well as its water and oxygen supply. A number of children and babies were reportedly killed as a result of the lack of oxygen supply and Israeli soldiers are rounding up doctors and patients in the courtyard. Israel is currently in the process of destroying what is left of the last three hospitals in northern Gaza as it decimates the remaining population with military attacks, starvation, blocking access to clean water and medical supplies, and forced displacement. Israel instituted a communications blackout over the weekend of October 18, 2024 before ruthlessly slaughtering non-combatants – men, women, and children.