NEW YORK — Recently the Holy See of Echmiadzin, the Great House of Cilicia, Armenian Evangelical World Council, the Armenian Missionary Association of America and the AGBU together welcomed an effort by various bodies of the United Nations, which called for a probe into the fate of millions of Armenians who were forcibly deported by the Ottoman Empire.
The working group submitted its query to the UN office in Geneva on March 25. It is signed by Bernard Duhaime, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Fabian Salvioli Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
Below is the text of the announcement from the joint Armenian organizations:
Guided by pan-Armenian interests on behalf of our respective organizations and institutions, we welcome the joint action of multiple human rights bodies. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, which, in the framework of their mandates, addressed a Joint Allegation Letter to the Government of the Republic of Turkey.
This Joint Allegation marks an important step in the process of demanding from the Republic of Turkey to come to terms with the past, and primarily to fulfill its duty of investigation and to ensure the right of victims to the truth, justice, and reparations.
It stresses the alleging violations attributable to Turkey in relation to the tragic events that affected the Armenian minority from 1915 to 1923, and their consequences for the population concerned.
