At the Public Theater of the Kallithea district of Athens, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan participated in a two-day conference dedicated to the memory of writer and politician Michalis Charalampidis under the title “You are the son of Rigas Feraios.”
Ambassador Mkrtchyan was invited to participate in a panel discussion on “The Policy of Teaching Genocide Studies,” chaired by Nina Kasimati, Member of the Greek Parliament, Member of the Greece-Armenia Friendship Group.
During the interactive discussion, Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented the background of the Global Forums Against the Crime of Genocide organized by Armenia as an important step towards general awareness of the genocide. He noted that since independence, the Government of Armenia has decided to organize scientific events dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide with the participation of international partners and scholars, which took place in 1995, 2005 and 2010.
Starting from the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015, the organization of such events was institutionalized and began to be called the Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide, the last of which took place in December 2024. The Ambassador noted that as a nation that has survived genocide, Armenians bear a moral responsibility in advancing the agenda of genocide prevention internationally.
Speaking about a broader perspective on the issue of genocide prevention and awareness,
Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented Armenia’s efforts in the UN towards preventing genocides and raising awareness, which resulted in the adoption of resolutions on the prevention of Genocide on the initiative of Armenia (11 such resolutions have been adopted since 1998).
Tigran Mkrtchyan highlighted the 2008 UN resolution, which emphasized the importance of genocide prevention and state responsibility, as well as the 2013 resolution, which emphasized the role of education and days of remembrance in genocide prevention.
The Ambassador presented the importance of the 2015 resolution, which proposed that the UN General Assembly establish December 9 as the International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Genocide, and condemned denial. In the same year, when the 100th anniversary of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Genocide was celebrated, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide.
The global forums organized by Armenia are organized jointly with the Office of the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
The Ambassador noted that one of the most important factors in the issue of prevention are the days of remembrance of genocides. The more universal the commemorative events are, the more people will be reminded of what has already happened and hope will be awakened that new genocides can be prevented, although what we are witnessing is “once again” rather than “never again.”
The Ambassador also highlighted the role of art in genocide education, especially through the creation of films as a more effective option.