On April 2 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated in the International Conference on Genocide Prevention etitled “Responsibility to Protect” in Brussels which was organized by the Foreign Ministry of Belgium on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.

In the conference took part the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, a number of Heads of international organizations, Foreign Ministers of around thirty states, other high-level delegations and eminent scholars.

High-ranking representatives from nearly 120 countries and international organizations who delivered speech at the conference stressed the importance of undertaking joint efforts by the international community towards prevention of genocide.

In his speech Minister Nalbandian said: “As Rwanda Genocide survivor Esther Mujawayo mentioned at the Human Rights Council High Level Panel Discussion dedicated to the Genocide Convention in Geneva four weeks ago, “Today is the fourth generation of Armenians who are still waiting". Not only Armenians, for almost a 100 years the whole international community has been waiting for Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In fact next year it would be the Centenary of this tragedy. As a nation that survived the first genocide of the 20th century, we feel a strong moral responsibility to bring our contribution to international efforts in prevention of crimes against humanity.”

The Minister stressed: “Since the adoption of the 1948 Genocide Convention efforts were put for the elimination of the consequences of the Holocaust. The ensuing history of 60 years, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and other tragedies demonstrated that all good-will is not enough to exclude crimes against humanity from happening again and again.

Understandably one of the core causes of genocide recurrence or new attempts to crimes against humanity is the absence of an adequate united international response to it. Genocide prevention is a burden that should be shared. This requires political commitments by governments to stop genocide from happening anywhere in the world without subordinating that noble humanitarian cause to any geopolitical calculations.

An important dimension of the prevention of genocide is the prevention of maturing genocidal atmosphere. It is necessary not to ignore and root out such genocidal expressions, as hatred and hostility propagated on national, ethnic, racial and religious grounds. It is true that exact prediction seems not always possible but it is possible to identify danger zones and cases approaching the brink of genocide. The international community should evaluate the origins of genocidal atmosphere leading to this heinous crime and prevent it before it becomes too late. Genocide is an unthinkable crime for a society which is founded on tolerance and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms.”

“The civilized world resolutely rejects the incitement of hatred, racism, dissemination of intolerance, the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity under the guise of freedom of expression. The denial is a continuation of genocide.”- Edward Nalbandian stated.