Statement on the Trump Administration’s Criminal Treatment of Immigrant Children

February 12, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is horrified by the Trump Administration’s treatment of immigrant children, exemplified by the case of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, the adorable little boy in the blue bunny hat, who was detained with his father at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas after being apprehended in Minneapolis. Liam’s detention sparked protests and brought into public view very concerning information about the treatment of children in the facility. The conditions at Dilley are in breach of U.S. law, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies, and international human rights standards. Conditions in the facility alongside the Trump Administration’s assault on immigrants nationwide may also constitute violations of international criminal law, particularly the Rome Statute. We concur with Genocide Watch that the Trump Administration is committing crimes against humanity. The Lemkin Institute further believes that the Trump Administration’s treatment of immigrant children is evidence of genocidal intent towards immigrant communities. As in most genocides, this intent is closely tied to the profit-making schemes of Trump’s close associates.

Statement on the Iranian Government’s Response to Recent Protests

February 3, 2026

The Lemkin Institute vehemently condemns the use of deadly force by Iranian authorities against protestors across the country, accompanied by the security forces’ unlawful use of firearms and mass arbitrary arrests. This wave of persecution has caused widespread death and injury among civilians and security personnel, while authorities have deliberately imposed internet shutdowns and information blackouts to obscure the scale of abuses. Such repression marks a dangerous escalation of state violence and constitutes crimes against humanity. It also substantially increases the risk of future mass atrocity crimes by the regime.

Statement on the Normalization of Nazism in the U.S Government

January 25, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is deeply concerned by a dangerous and accelerating pattern within the United States government in which rhetoric and symbolism associated with Nazi ideology and white supremacist extremism is increasingly given political legitimacy. Entire government agencies, especially the Department of Homeland Security, as well as senior officials and other influential actors now regularly tolerate and even echo language and imagery historically rooted in Nazism and genocidal movements, eroding democratic norms and cultivating an environment that actively drives extremist mobilization and politically driven violence.

Statement on the Brutal ICE Murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

January 15, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is deeply alarmed and saddened by the state-sanctioned murder of Renee Nicole Good, 37, on 7 January 2026 by an Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Good was a U.S. citizen. She leaves behind her wife and three children. We extend our deepest condolences to the Good family and condemn state violence against civilians in all its forms.

Statement on the Role of Civil Society Organizations in Sustaining German Genocide Denial

January 13, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemns the persistent efforts by several high-profile German civil society organizations to deny the ongoing genocide in Gaza and to disseminate disinformation and denialist narratives among German political decision-makers.

These efforts must be understood within the broader context of Germany’s uniquely close relationship with Israel, rooted in Germany’s historical responsibility for the Holocaust. In 2007, former Chancellor Angela Merkel first coined the term Staatsräson in this context, proclaiming Germany’s responsibility for the existence of Israel and its duty to defend it. The term is understood as a guidance principle for German foreign policy and informs parliamentary decisions, arms exports, and diplomatic positioning. However, it has not found its way into German legislation and therefore entails no legal obligations from German leaders.

Statement on Rohingya Repatriation

January 9, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis faced by the Rohingya people and the continued international stalemate over their displacement in the absence of a safe and viable route to repatriation in Myanmar. The Rohingya have endured decades of systematic discrimination, state-enforced statelessness, and mass atrocity crimes. The genocidal violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) in 2016 and 2017 forced over 740,000 Rohingya people to flee to Bangladesh, joining refugees from previous waves of displacement. It is essential that the international community clearly articulate conditions for their safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar in accordance with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) guidelines for voluntary repatriation.

Statement Calling for the Immediate Release of Human Rights Defender Shahriar Kabir from Detention in Bangladesh

January 5, 2026

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release veteran journalist, celebrated author, and globally recognized human rights defender Shahriar Kabir, 75, whose continued detention represents a serious violation of fundamental civil and political rights and Bangladesh’s international legal obligations.

Statement on the Suppression of the Armenian Apostolic Church: Historical Continuities of Identity Erasure within Victim Groups

December 28, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention expresses deep concern over the ongoing state repression against the Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenia, including the arrests and intimidation of clergy, the targeting of ecclesiastical institutions, and the state’s increasing use of the legal system to silence religious leadership. These developments represent a dangerous challenge to Armenia’s democratic institutions as well as an encroachment on the core institutions of Armenian identity. They are an unfortunate example of how genocidal processes can become internalized during periods of threat.

Statement on the Deterioration of the Situation in Lebanon

December 20, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Lebanon and the credible reports indicating that Israel is preparing to launch a second large-scale military operation in Lebanon framed as an effort to “disarm Hezbollah.”

Since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, Israeli military operations have not stopped. They have taken on a sustained and normalized pattern, with airstrikes, drone attacks, and artillery fire continuing to strike Lebanese territory on a daily basis. What was presented to the international community as a cessation of hostilities has, in practice, become a dangerous illusion: a one sided continuation of hostilities under the banner of a ceasefire.

The Lemkin Institute calls on Israel to immediately end violations of Lebanese airspace and cease all drone, automated, and remote-control operations.

Statement on U.S. Actions towards Venezuela

December 17, 2025

With the newly issued Executive Order from the U.S. President designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) on 15 Decemeber 2025, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is gravely concerned about an impending U.S intervention in Venezuela and the commencement of even more brutal immigration enforcement tactics domestically. Since September 2025, the United States has already murdered at least 90 people in waters with close proximity to Venezuela in twenty different attacks. These strikes have been called illegal extrajudicial killings by experts in international law. The Lemkin Institute warns that a war in Venezuela will render the U.S. deeply vulnerable to the commission of genocide at home and abroad.

Statement on U.S. Governor Greg Abbot’s Designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

December 16, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security condemns Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s designations of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a “foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organisation” alongside the Muslim Brotherhood. Abbot’s and DeSantis’s proclamations are part of an alarming coordinated effort in the United States to chip away at civil liberties and religious freedom through attacks on organizations that have voiced opposition to genocide, particularly Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Lemkin Institute warns that these incidents are indicative of a broader environment in which political officials and powerful private actors mobilize state power to silence criticism of Israel by U.S. citizens despite their constitutional right to critique and to peacefully protest genocide. The criminalization of CAIR fits squarely within this pattern. If left unchallenged, these tactics will continue to erode core constitutional protections and undermine the rights of religious and political minorities across the United States.

Statement on the Antisemitic Terrorist Attack in Australia

December 15, 2025

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security condemns with deep sadness the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that took place on Sunday, December 14. The attack, which has been declared an act of terrorism by New South Wales law enforcement and Australian Prime Minister Albanese, has left at least sixteen people dead, including a ten-year-old girl and an elderly Holocaust survivor who died shielding his wife from the bullets. Over three dozen more victims are in hospital with serious injuries. This attack is one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in the English-speaking world, ranking alongside the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) in 2018 that killed 11 members of the congregation. The Lemkin Institute mourns the loss of these irreplaceable people and implores gentiles around the world to step up efforts to defend the rights of their Jewish neighbors and fellow citizens.