Statements

Statement on Ongoing Ethnic Massacres of the Amhara People in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia

February 3, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is alarmed by the ongoing massacres of ethnic Amhara men, women, and children in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, as well as in the neighborhing regions of Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, which are being overlooked by the international community. The massacres of Amhara in Oromia, which have been going on since before the outbreak of war between Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2020, are often reported simply as “killings,” without noting the discriminatory nature of the violence. This leaves thousands of Amhara in pemanent peril and emboldens their tormentors.

Statement in Support of an International Investigation of Abiy Ahmed s Crimes in Ethiopia

February 3, 2023

Since the outbreak of the war in the region of Tigray in November 2020, Ethiopia’s government, under the orders of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has committed egregious crimes against its own citizens including widespread human rights abuses, looting, ethnic-based atrocities, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence. The fact pattern strongly suggests that, among other crimes, the Ethiopian government forces may have committed genocide against the people of Tigray.

Statement on BBC HARDtalk Anchor Stephen Sackur s Interview with Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan

January 26, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is shocked and horrified that BBC HARDtalk Anchor Stephen Sackur offered genocide as one of two “realistic options” facing Armenians in Artsakh during an interview with Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan that aired on 23 January 2023.

Statement on the Police Murder of Keenen Anderson in Los Angeles, USA

January 23, 2023

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemns the murder of Keenan Anderson by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on January 3, 2023. Anderson, who was a father and 10th grade English teacher visiting LA from Washington, DC, had been in a traffic accident and called police for help. When police arrived, multiple officers chased him, pinned him down, and repeatedly tased him, at one time for 30 seconds straight. Anderson died a few hours later at a hospital as a direct consequence of police brutality.

Statement on the Police Assassination of Manuel Esteban Paez Terá

January 23, 2023

The Lemkin Institute protests the apparent assassination of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terá, a 26-year old protester in the state of Georgia who went by the name “Tortuguita,” or “Little Turtle.” Terá was shot by US police on January 18 as the police launched a raid on a protest encampment set up to protect the public South River Forest from a $90 million taxpayer-funded police training facility that opponents call “Cop City.” This raid is a recent example of strong-arm techniques being used by the American security apparatus to destroy all efforts to reign in the growing police state and to imagine more transformative futures in the country.

Statement on the Lunar New Year Massacre in Monterey Park, California

January 23, 2023

In the United States, the Lunar New Year opened with another mass shooting, at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, which killed eleven people and injured nine. This is the thirty-third mass shooting in the United States this year. A motive for the shooting is still unclear. Survivors interviewed by the press have told of a man with a long gun and rolls of ammunition shooting indiscriminately into the crowd at the local ballroom and dance club. The man was recently identified as ​​72-year-old Huu Can Tran. He died by suicide in his van shortly after the shooting.

Statement on Artsakh Crisis (IV)

January 21, 2023

Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh is aimed at weakening Artsakh Armenians through genocidal threats,including the threats of starvation, exposure, and ethnically-motivated violence.

Statement - Artsakh Crisis (III)

January 20, 2023

Lack of access to energy has a direct and profound impact on the realization and enjoyment of human rights. It affects health and life outcomes by blocking the operations of vital medical facilities and preventing people from heating their homes.

Statement - Artsakh Crisis (II)

January 19, 2023

The blockade, which has been going on for more than a month, is having devastating consequences on the Armenian population of Artsakh causing a humanitarian crisis. Although the pseudo-environmentalists carrying out the blockade claim to have peaceful goals, any kind of siege constitutes a criminal act and it is far from being a peaceful protest.

Statement - Artsakh Crisis (I)

January 18, 2023

The blockade, which has been going on for more than a month, is having devastating consequences on the Armenian population of Artsakh causing a humanitarian crisis. Although the pseudo-environmentalists carrying out the blockade claim to have peaceful goals, any kind of siege constitutes a criminal act and it is far from being a peaceful protest.

Statement on the US Supreme Court s Hearing of Haaland v. Brackeen

December 7th, 2022

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is carefully monitoring the United States Supreme Court case Haaland v. Brackeen, a case which will determine the constitutionality of the landmark Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, which sought to ensure that Native American children were not placed in foster care outside of their families and communities. Halland v. Brackeen challenges the constitutionality of ICWA, arguing that the bill provides an unfair race-preference in favor of Indigenous adoptive parents over non-Indigenous parents. However, supporters have identified the historical destruction of the Indigenous family structure as the root of ICWA’s passage and view ICWA as a crucial part of efforts to address the intergenerational harm caused by the genocidal policies of child removal in the United States.

Statement on the Genocidal Nature of the Gender Critical Movement’s Ideology and Practice

November 29, 2022

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention voices its concern over the growing number of laws introduced in the United States that target transgender individuals and the transgender community. Anti-trans hostility in the US has become a staple of the Republican Party’s election strategy and is clearly being used to stoke voters’ fears of a changing world by raising the specter of a malevolent polluting force tied to liberalism, cosmopolitanism, and democracy. The Lemkin Institute believes that the so-called “gender critical movement” that is behind these laws is a fascist movement furthering a specifically genocidal ideology that seeks the complete eradication of trans identity from the world.