Statements

Statement at the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues
Session I: Challenges to Inclusion and Equality

December 5, 2023

The Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities sets forth the responsibilities of all States to protect the rights and very existence of minorities within their respective territories. Protecting such rights entails protecting manifestations of identity within peoples’ historical homelands.

Statement at the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues Session II: Socio-Economic Empowerment

December 5, 2023

Currently, there is a targeted pattern of assault against the Karakalpak group by the state of Uzbekistan. Individuals, governments, and international organizations who work with Uzbekistan must be made aware of the nature of the persecution of the Karakalpak people, so that they can fashion their policies accordingly.

Statement on the Rise of Antisemitism Worldwide

November 22, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is alarmed by the rise of antisemitism worldwide in the wake of Hamas’s lethal October 7 attack on southern Israel and the State of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people that is unfolding in Gaza. In particular, we were horrified by the events in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, on 29 October 2023, when a mob broke into Makhachkala airport waving Palestinian flags, inciting violence, and screaming antisemitic chants. The crowd rushed to the plane, which arrived from Tel-Aviv, Israel, searching for Jews on board with the intent of harming them. Luckily, none of the passengers were harmed. While Russian officials and operational services acted quickly and firmly, detaining around 83 protesters and jailing 15, the scale and rapid development of the incident clearly showed how antisemitic attitudes can quickly transform into mob violence.

Statement on the Sentencing of Vagif Khachatryan in the Republic of Azerbaijan

November 13, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention energetically condemns the 15-year prison sentence handed down to Mr. Vagif Khachatryan on 7 November 2023 by the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Lemkin Institute exhorts the international community to persuade the regime of President Aliyev into promptly releasing all Armenian persons under its jurisdiction and to refrain from providing any kind of assistance that could worsen the suffering of the victims of the Artsakh genocide or embolden Azerbaijan to perpetrate any unlawful act of aggression. 

Statement on the October 1 UN Mission to Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh

October 28, 2023

The Lemkin Institue of Genocide Prevention is disappointed with the outcome of the UN mission’s visit to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on October 1, which took place after the entire Armenian population of Artsakh had already fled due to forcible displacement following the recent Azerbaijani invasion. It is difficult to understand what the purpose of such a mission was and why there was never more pressure for Azerbaijan to allow a mission into Artsakh during Azerbaijan’s 9-month blockade of the region that led up to the invasion. The Lemkin Institute calls on the UN to prepare a proper mission to the Republic of Artsakh, one that is inclusive of international team members from countries neutral to the conflict to conduct a thorough analysis of the current situation on the ground. In order to ensure the rights of the Armenians in Artsakh, the UN must act with professionalism, impartiality, and commitment to the values presented in the UN Charter.

Statement of Mourning for the Gazans and the World

October 27, 2023

The Lemkin Institute mourns with immense sorrow and despair for the Palestinian people of Gaza. In complete darkness, without access to one another or the outside world, Gazan families are facing intensified bombing tonight and what appears to be a partial ground invasion from Israel after three weeks of incessant bombardment and dwindling supplies of food, water, medicines, and fuel. The Israeli government and military are in full control without the counterweight, however slight, of external witnesses. Although we are a nondenominational organization, tonight we join with others all over the world in standing in solidarity with and praying for the people of Gaza: “In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in the heaven, and he is the All-Hearing and All-Knowing.”

Statement on the Ongoing Imprisonment of Armenian Officials of the Republic of Artsakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan

October 27, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention energetically condemns the ongoing and illegal imprisonment of eight high-ranking Armenian officials of the Republic of Artsakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan, which took place after the latter’s military aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh region on 19 September 2023, and during the ensuing genocide against its civilian population. The Lemkin Institute exhorts the international community of states to pressure the government of President Aliyev into releasing all Armenian individuals under its jurisdiction, including those mentioned in the present statement.

Statement on the Murder of Six-Year-Old Wadea Al-Fayoume in Illinois and the Role of Genocidal Language in His Death

October 21, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention mourns the murder of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and the grievous injury of his mother Hanaan Shahin in an act motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. It also condems US officials and the media for their reckless embrace of genocidal language against Palestinians, which inflames pre-existing anti-Muslim sentiment and inspires fresh violence.

Statement on the Sentencing of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan in Azerbaijan

September 28,2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention protests the sentencing of Ruben Vardanyan to four months of “preventive detention” in Azerbaijan, after which he is apparently scheduled to stand trial for a host of invented charges carrying a possible sentence of 14 years in prison. Vardanyan, a well-known philanthropist and former State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, is a civilian and has committed no crime.

Statement on the Arrest and Detention of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben
Vardanyan by Azerbaijan

September 27, 2023
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is deeply concerned about the breaking news of the arrest and detention of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan by Azerbaijan’s State Border Service. Vardanyan was taken by Azerbaijani agents on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 as he attempted to cross the illegal Lachin checkpoint (established by Azerbaijan in April 2023) along with thousands of other citizens of Artsakh fleeing Azerbaijani occupation.

Statement on Rohingya Refugee Repatriation

September 10, 2023

As the current crisis between the Myanmar junta and its political opposition continues, the state of Bangladesh, which neighbors Myanmar, has plans to repatriate refugees on its territory, especially members of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. While the Lemkin Institute understands the pressures faced by Bangladesh as host to hundreds of thousands of refugees, we nonetheless wholeheartedly oppose this plan as inconsistent with moral values, the right of refugees to seek protection, and international law.

Statement in Response to the Open Letter sent by the Rabbinical Center of Europe to the President and Prime Minister of Armenia

September 9, 2023

The Lemkin Institute's response to the Open Letter sent by the Rabbinical Center of Europe to the President and Prime Minister of Armenia, signed by 50 leading European rabbis, which states that “[e]xpressions such as ‘ghetto’, ‘genocide’,
‘holocaust’ and others are (…) inappropriate to be part of the jargon used in any kind of political disagreement” and call on the Armenian government to “explicitly and unequivocally clarify that the Armenian people recognizes and honors the terrible human suffering undergone by the Jewish people.”