OPEN LETTERS

Open Letter to Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, Regarding Complicity in Genocide

The Lemkin Institute calls on the United States to immediately change its policy towards Azerbaijan in a way that reflects a commitment to peace, democratic values, and human rights. To do this, the United States must place clear pressure on Azerbaijan and Türkiye to draw back their ongoing aggression against Armenian life through targeted sanctions and other diplomatic measures drawn from existing genocide prevention toolboxes. This must be done before Armenia is forced to sign any ‘peace’ agreement that would place Armenians in Artsakh and in the Republic of Armenia at risk of further Azerbaijani aggression. Otherwise the the United States and your office risk being complicit in genocide, according to Article III(e) of the Genocide Convention.

Open Letter to French President Emmanuel Macron Regarding Complicity in Genocide

For over a century, France has been a refuge for more than 350,000 Armenians, who never wavered in demonstrating their Francophilia and their unshakeable attachment to the French territory, its people, and its values. France, in turn, must come to the aid of a people whose very existence is threatened. Just as French sailors saved the 4,100 Armenians of Musa Dagh from extermination by the Turkish army and irregular troops during the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century, France must now come to the aid of the 120,000 Armenians of Artsakh who are surrounded by hostile neighbours whose intentions are as clear as they are macabre.

This is the kind of solidarity that Armenians desperately need. This is the kind of solidarity that our world needs.

Open Letter to Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, Regarding Complicity in Genocide

The current course of action is no solution to the ongoing genocidal threats faced by Armenians. The European Political Community, and especially the German nation, must place clear pressure on Azerbaijan and Türkiye to draw back their ongoing aggression against Armenian life through targeted sanctions and other diplomatic measures drawn from existing genocide prevention toolboxes. This must be done before Armenia is forced to sign any ‘peace’ agreement that would place Armenians in Artsakh and in the Republic of Armenia at risk of further Azerbaijani aggression. Otherwise the European Political Community, the German state, and your office risk being complicit in genocide, according to Article III(e) of the Genocide Convention. Any accord brokered by the European Political Community on Sunday that includes the forcible displacement of Artsakhsis to Armenia will amount to a plan for genocide and should be tried in an international court. Peoples of the world can no longer afford to let complicity in genocide go unpunished.

Open Letter to Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Regarding Complicity in Genocide

On behalf of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, a grassroots advocacy organization based in the U.S. dedicated to ending the cycle of violence and promoting long lasting peace, we wrote to Charles Michel concerning the upcoming tripartite meeting to be held on May 14th in Brussel between the President of the European Council, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.