PRESS RELEASE
International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)
CONTACT: Patil Halajian
DATE: January 19, 2010
Tel: 416-250-9807
Conference on the Treatment of the Armenian Genocide in National and
International Law
The Journal of Law and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas
and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute) are jointly organizing and
sponsoring a conference on the `Treatment of the Armenian Genocide in
National & International Law.’ The conference will bring together
legal specialists with a variety of expertise in national (Turkey, US,
Britain) and international law and genocide. The event will take place
on February 5th, 2010 at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis
with the participation of the Cafesjian Family Foundation and the
Minneapolis Foundation.
Despite various tribunals to prosecute war crimes and crimes against
humanity since (WWII, Nuremberg, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and the
establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, little
progress has been made on the punishment and prevention of the crime
of genocide. It has been argued that this relative ineffectiveness
has contributed over the years to the emboldening of those who would
consider perpetrating genocide. Darfur is one example that is still
ongoing and there are no guarantees that others will not follow.
This situation will only worsen with the tripling of the world’s
population since WWII. The shrinking of the resources to sustain life,
and the chasm between the few that have and the many that have not,
will increase the risk of intra-national and international conflict,
including genocide.
This conference will draw attention to how one case of genocide, the
Armenian case, has been treated in national and international law, and
how its manipulation strengthens the hands of deniers and undermines
the international legal regime intended to prevent genocide.
The conference hopes to raise awareness among policy makers to
strengthen the legal framework so that all cases of genocide are
treated with justice and that politics do not obstruct the application
of the law nationally and internationally.
The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Schulze
Grand Atrium at the School of Law at the University of St. Thomas.
The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A
Division of the Zoryan Institute) is dedicated to the study and
dissemination of knowledge regarding the phenomenon of genocide in all
of its aspects to create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge and
promote the necessity of preventing it.