October 2023 | Issue No. 1 | genocidewatch.com
aaaaaGenocide Watch exists to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder. We seek to raise awareness and influence public policy concerning potential and actual genocide. Our purpose is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide. aaaaaOur monthly newsletter aims to keep people informed of Genocide Watch’s operation, as well as the operations of the other members of the Alliance Against Genocide. For more information, visit genocidewatch.com.
GENOCIDE EMERGENCY ALERT
Artsakh Surrenders to Azerbaijan's Aggression
aaaaaOn September 20, 2023, Genocide Watch issued a Genocide Emergency Alert for Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Azerbaijan began its blockade of Artsakh in December 2022, cutting off its access to the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting it to Armenia. Before the blockade, 90% of Artsakh’s food was imported from Armenia. On September 19, Azerbaijan shelled the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert, killing at least 200 people and injuring scores more. To save lives, Artsakh was forced to surrender to Azerbaijan on September 20. aaaaaArtsakh has run out of flour to make bread. Hospitals are out of medicine. Stores have no baby formula. Over 100,000 people have already fled from Nagorno-Karabakh, and the remaining Armenian population is attempting to leave. Hundreds of documented Azerbaijani war crimes prove that Armenians will not be safe under an Azerbaijani government. Since 2020, Genocide Watch has warned of the risk of genocide in Artsakh; now, the silent genocide has become overt. Therefore, Genocide Watch considers Azerbaijan to be at Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 5: Organization, Stage 7: Preparation, Stage 8: Persecution, and Stage 9: Extermination. Genocide Watch recommends that the international community should:
Stop all aid to Azerbaijan.
Impose sanctions on Azerbaijan and support the ICJ’s ruling to open the Lachin Corridor.
Airlift humanitarian aid directly into Artsakh.
aaaaaHow many more Armenian lives, cultural heritage sites, and ancestral lands will be lost? Will the US and Europe again be bystanders to genocide? Read the full report here.
GENOCIDE WATCH UPDATES
aaaaaGenocide Watch’s Artsakh Team is working on a propaganda fact-checking project to address propaganda put out by the Azerbaijani government about the recent violence in Artsakh. This project will then compare that information to the actual facts to highlight false narratives coming out of Azerbaijan.
aaaaaGenocide Watch has also recently published the following articles:
A Genocide Emergency Alert for Israel and Gaza
A statement on Forced Displacement and Hazara Land Confiscation by the Taliban
Genocide and Forced Deportation: Nagorno-Karabakh, an op-ed by Aline Keledjian and Ani Tonoyan
“Ethnic Cleansing” is a Euphemism used for Genocide Denial, an article by Dr. Gregory Stanton
COUNTRY REPORTS
Genocide Watch has recently published reports on the following countries:
Serbia is at Stage 6: Polarization and Stage 10: Denial
Bosnia is at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 10: Denial
Zimbabwe is at Stage 3: Discrimination and Stage 10: Denial
Mauritania is at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 8: Persecution
Mali is at Stage 8: Persecution and Stage 9: Extermination
Find the full list of country reports here.
ALLIANCE MEMBER UPDATES
Members of the Alliance Against Genocide have been doing valuable work related to the Artsakh genocide.
Here are a few of their projects:
International Crisis Group’s CrisisWatch indicator has recognized the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a deteriorating situation.
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has published its report on Armenia.
The Armenian National Committee of America and In Defense of Christians helped to organize a Capitol Hill press conference on Artsakh and other persecuted Christian communities.
Find the full list of Alliance Against Genocide member organizations here.
FEATURED ALLIANCE MEMBER: THE LEMKIN INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE PREVENTION
aaaaaThe Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is an NGO that works to prevent genocide via education and grassroots empowerment, wide-ranging advocacy initiatives, and legal accountability. Since 2021, the Lemkin Institute’s Armenia Project has focused on raising awareness about the threat of an Armenian genocide in Artsakh perpetrated by Azerbaijan. In keeping with its mission statement, the Lemkin Institute empowers grassroots organizations in the South Caucasus by providing them with the training and resources necessary to take action against genocide. The Armenia Project involves research and publications on the crisis; advocacy efforts through social media campaigns and podcast episodes; and country visits by the founders and co-presidents of the Lemkin Institute to work with their partner organizations. aaaaaOn September 5, 2023, the Lemkin Institute published a 126-page report entitled Risk Factors and Indicators of the Crime of Genocide in the Republic of Artsakh: Applying the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes to the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. This report details the very real threat of a genocide against the Armenian people by the regime of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. It concludes that a genocide might already be in progress; using the UN’s definition, it identifies that the nine-month blockade of Artsakh both causes “serious bodily or mental harm” and “deliberately [inflicts] on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” Read Genocide Watch’s full article on the Lemkin Institute report here. aaaaaThe Lemkin Institute has also issued a third communication with the ICC regarding the genocide in Ukraine, two Active Genocide Alerts for the Tigray region and Amhara region of Ethiopia, a statement in support of an international investigation of Abiy Ahmed’s crimes in Ethiopia, and several statements on the crisis in Israel and Palestine. Find out more at the Lemkin Institute's website.
TAKE ACTION
Help us stop genocide around the world. Donate to Genocide Watch Support Armenian Community Projects Contact Your Congresspeople Support the Armenian National Committee of America
IN THE NEWS
CNN: Republic of Artsakh Will Cease to Exist January 1, 2024 The Guardian: Former State Minister of Artsakh Arrested by Azerbaijan The New York Times: After Surrender in Nagorno-Karabakh, Leaders Discuss Armenians’ Fate ANCA: Azerbaijan is Attacking Nagorno-Karabakh
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