In a statement marking the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan emphasized that genocide is a crime that has no and cannot have any justification.

She stressed that both legal and moral responsibility for such crimes is shared by all humanity.

“Today, the civilized world commemorates the memory of the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century.

In the early 1900s, Armenians living in Ottoman Turkey were subjected to mass atrocities, brutal killings, forced deportations, and inhumane suffering. Despite ongoing advancements in human rights protection mechanisms, the rights of those forcibly displaced and tormented have yet to be restored.

The impunity for such acts, regrettably, breeds new crimes. The world offers many examples confirming this. In 2023, we again witnessed the forced displacement of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and numerous instances of crimes, brutality, and mistreatment committed against them.

Unfortunately, ethnic hatred continues to fuel genocidal crimes and crimes against humanity, including state-driven policies of Armenophobia.

I emphasize the need to combine all efforts to prevent such crimes in today’s civilized world and implement appropriate policies. Deploying effective mechanisms to fight these atrocities should be a priority for everyone.

Genocide is a crime that has no and cannot have any justification. Its consequences are irreversible and affect all humanity, undermining the entire human rights protection framework.

Today, we bow in memory of the sacred martyrs of the Armenian Genocide and reaffirm our commitment to condemning such crimes, restoring justice, and preventing similar acts,” the statement reads.