Extraordinary evening at Victoria Hall with Charles Aznavour: UN Special

PanARMENIAN.Net - UN Special - the monthly magazine of international civil servants working in the United Nations system in Geneva - has unveiled an interview with Charles Aznavour, the Ambassador of Armenia to the United Nations in Geneva.

It wasn’t an ordinary evening at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the piece says. There were warm words from the Swiss officials and the Director-General of UNOG, all to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Armenia becoming a United Nations member and establishing diplomatic relations with Switzerland.

But all eyes were on one man – a singer, songwriter, star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, diplomat and who they say is the most famous Armenian of his time. The Ambassador of Armenia to the United Nations in Geneva and to Switzerland is no ordinary person; he is a living legend; he is Charles Aznavour. Afterwards, the magazine sat down with Ambassador Aznavour and learn more about his path to diplomacy and the role and relationship of Armenia with the United Nations and Switzerland.

"I was born in Paris, but both my parents were survivors of the genocide. My father, Misha, was an Armenian from Georgia; my mother, Knar, from a family of Armenian traders from Turkey. France quickly became my country. At home we spoke both Armenian and French, and we felt both 100% French and 100% Armenian. Many Armenians in France believe that I played a certain role in the term “Armenian” being included in the French national narrative, and then, after the song “They Fell,” which I wrote in 1975, they regarded me as someone who, finally, represented them," the musician said.

"However, my commitment to Armenia is relatively recent. Before its independence, I went there once, in 1964, just for a concert. It was the devastating earthquake of 1988 that alerted my consciousness. In twenty-four hours, I decided to launch an association: “Aznavour for Armenia”, which for many Armenians in Armenia in those difficult times, embodied hope for the future.

"The newly independent Republic of Armenia trusted me with a function that would strengthen and formalise my commitment. First, I was appointed as Armenia’s Ambassador to UNESCO, and then, in 2009, President Sargsyan, who granted me the Armenian nationality, proposed that I represent Armenia in Switzerland and the United Nations in Geneva. At first I hesitated, thinking it would not be easy. Then I thought what is important for Armenia must be important for all of us."