YEREVAN (JAM News) — For two days, on December 12 and 13, Armenian and international experts gathered in Yerevan to discuss genocide risk factors and ways to enhance mechanisms for early detection and prevention of such tragedies. The 5th Global Forum “Against the Crime of Genocide” brought together scholars researching crimes against humanity, leaders of international human rights organizations, activists, civil society representatives, and politicians.
A central theme of the forum was the idea that impunity leads to new genocides. Many speakers argued that some of today’s events might have been avoided if prevention mechanisms had been applied effectively. However, they emphasized that political will is essential to prosecute perpetrators, while international justice often faces significant resistance.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, speaking at the forum, noted that the international community tends to pay attention to genocides and other mass crimes only after they have already occurred: “We witnessed this in our region not only over 110 years ago in case of the Armenian Genocide but also literally last year when it seemed that the world could clearly see enough risk factors that could lead to irreversible consequences. Unfortunately, we were unable to prevent, and today we are witnessing the irreversible consequences. This is one of the examples where the response of international institutions was not proportional to the risk factors and the situation on the ground. And the most significant one of these risk factors, the spread of hatred, ultimately turned from hate speech into a crime.”
The President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars Melanie O’Brien, stated in Yerevan that discussions about genocides should not overlook what occurred during the 10-month blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh:
“We are talking about the lack of food, medical care, and medication. These are fundamental characteristics of genocide. This is a crime of creating conditions for physical destruction. We saw some residents of Nagorno-Karabakh die of starvation. At the very least, we can clearly state that the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 was preceded by genocide.
The deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh can be characterized as a crime against humanity. This would allow the International Criminal Court to examine the crime. Evidence-based arguments can be made, but I understand it will be challenging to find a way to hold anyone truly accountable.”
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