Red Flag Alerts for Genocide

In light of the Russian Ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on October 10 and 11, as well as Russia’s September 21 mobilization of reservists, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is issuing a Red Flag Alert for a dangerous escalation in Russia’s military tactics in Ukraine. In particular, we are concerned about the Russian state’s increasingly alarmist claims that it faces an existential threat from the West and that Russia must fight back in self-defense.

In light of Azerbaijan’s ongoing war crimes, terrorism, genocidal language, and genocidal aims towards Armenia and Armenians, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is issuing another red flag alert for Azerbaijan. There are moments in history when genocide can be prevented. This is one of those moments. The world will either act with clarity and strength to protect Armenian life or it will oversee a renewal of genocidal violence by states still driven by the hateful ideology of 1915.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention strongly condemns Iran’s crackdown on the courageous women and men who have taken to the streets to protest the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini while in state custody for alleged infractions of the state’s hijab law. We stand in solidarity with Iranians from all walks of life who have been peacefully expressing their outrage in the face of growing state terror and repression. We further celebrate this women-led movement, its powerful use of symbolism, and its battle cry of “women, life and freedom” as a model for people power and feminist solidarity the world over.

The Lemkin Institute is releasing a Red Flag Alert for India in view of widespread Hindu supremacism within Indian political culture and the genocidal ideological current that has taken root in a country often described as the world’s largest democracy. We are raising the alarm about the looming genocidal threat to India's 200 million Indian Muslims.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemns in the strongest possible terms the evidence of Azerbaijani atrocities committed against Armenian troops, especially against female members of the Armenian military and medical corps, during Azerbaijan’s most recent aggression against Armenian territory. We call on the governments of the world to condemn Azerbaijan and to call on the international media to report accurately about this terror campaign.

The Lemkin Institute condemns the recent behavior of Azerbaijan and warns that Azerbaijan’s actions are red flags of genocide and genocidal ideology. Turkey is standing with Azerbaijan and contributing to the ongoing sponsorship of Anti-Armenianism by both countries, inside and outside of their borders.

The Lemkin Institute calls on all international and state bodies to monitor Turkey and Azerbaijan for genocidal ideology and practices, to place pressure on Turkey and Azerbaijan to cease their genocidal threats against the Armenian people, and to reinforce the security of Armenians and the Armenian identity in the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh, and in Diaspora communities worldwide.