Appeal by the Armenians of Artsakh to the Compatriots around the World, International Organizations and the International Community to Raise the Bar

The 107th anniversary of the first ever genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide, is approaching. Over a century has passed since that tragic period, but the international community has not completely condemned the crime so far, has not either given an unbiased legal assessment to the events, leaving the perpetrators unpunished.

For the last fifty years, over thirty countries have recognized the 1915-1922 atrocities committed in Western Armenia as genocide, paving the way for the establishment of historical justice, but this is not enough to halt the racist crimes against humanity unleashed in different parts of the world today. Impunity has led to the continuation of the pan-Turkic plans on deporting Armenians from their homeland today.

The 44-day war in September 2020 unleashed by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh, with the support of Turkey, was an offensive against the Armenian people in the South Caucasus, aimed at continuing the genocide. At the cost of the lives of thousands of Armenians and heavy territorial losses, as well as through the selfless efforts of the Armenian Army and the mediation of the Russian Federation, the commitment of a new crime against the Armenian people was prevented.

However, the continuation of border provocations and the fanatic desire to destroy the Armenian historical and cultural values testify to the aspirations of the genocidal states to adhere to this policy. It is the same style that Turkey had used for years in Western Armenia. In the existing situation, the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Artsakh are obliged to counter the anti-Armenian threats at the state level, to adhere to the legal and political principles enshrined in the declarations proclaiming the establishment of the two Armenian states, reaffirming the common demand shared with the Armenian Diaspora.

Today, April 23, 2022, all the participants of the torchlight procession in Stepanakert on the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims appeal to the international community to raise the bar of fulfilling the obligations of the International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, not to betray the people of Artsakh, for whom the universal human values are of special importance, and warn that impunity for the crimes against Artsakh will lead to the perpetration of new crimes against humanity in different parts of the world.