A.R.F. Youth Organization of Canada
A.R.F "Armen Karo" Student Association
ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
3401 Rue Olivar-Asselin Montréal, Québec H4J 1L5
Tél: 514-331-6548 =95 Fax: 514-334-6853 =95 Email:
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Maria Keusseyan 514 -816-9652
Talar Mirzayan 514-887-2490
October 14 octobre, 2007
Armenian Youth participate in Global Conference on Prevention of Genocide
Montreal, QC, Canada – Representatives of the A.R.F. Youth Organization of
Canada, Armen Karo Student Association and Armenian National Committee of
Canada took part in the Global Conference on the Prevention of Genocide
organized by the McGill Faculty of Law and Centre for Human Rights and Legal
Pluralism on October 11-13 in Montreal.
The conference analyzed various genocides to sensitize participants to early
warning signs so that the public may alert the international community to
take preventive action, as is the case today in Ethiopia.
Chair of the organizing committee, Payam Akhavan S.J.D., opened the
Conference Thursday night stating that "the 20th century has been described
as the Century of Genocide. It opened in 1915 with the mass-killing of
almost 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire".
Two Armenian representatives were selected from about 300 applicants to
participate in the Young Leaders Forum that took place in the days leading
up to the Conference.
The representatives of the Armenian Youth Organization and the National
Committee of Canada reached a common understanding with the organizers of
the conference. A petition was prepared in support of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution currently before the United States Congress. It included such
signatories as Professor Frank Chalk, Payam Akhavan, Dr.Yehuda Bauer, the
Honourable Irwin Cotler, Senator Roméo Dallaire, Professor Gregory Stanton,
and Penny Echenberg, who founded the conference.
"Yes, our participation added to the greater community’s arsenal but today
the Armenian Youth walk away from the Conference ever more aware of the
urgency with which we have to respond and be present to remind the
international community of our history and our resolve to seek justice" said
Nanor Nicolian, president of the A.R.F. Youth Organization.
At the end of this Conference, the Young Leaders declared that they would
"promote recognition and empathy, justice and accountability." The Youth
Organization and Student Association of Canada will stand firm to remind
them as well as other participants of their commitment to solidarity.