Statement in response to the address by the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as delivered by Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan at the 1551st Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council

29 January, 2026

Mr. Chairperson,

The Delegation of Armenia thanks the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for his address to the Permanent Council.

On the International Day of Commemoration of the Holocaust, as we honor the millions of victims and mark the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, we have a solemn duty to reflect on the painful lessons of the past. The Holocaust was not merely one of the darkest chapters of human history, it was a profound moral failure, a devastating demonstration of what can happen when intolerance, hatred and dehumanization are allowed to fester.

The empathy of the Armenian nation, like any people that have suffered and survived, is authentic. Our compassion is steadfast and inclusive. We know firsthand that emerging from unspeakable calamities and healing from profound trauma demand extraordinary resilience and strength.

Our shared memory is also marked by acts of solidarity and humanity. A number of Armenians have been recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, for risking their lives to aid Jewish people during the Holocaust. Among them was Mr. Ara Jeretzian who saved more than 400 people by sheltering them in a hospital that he had founded. Furthermore, around 600,000 Armenians fought against the Nazis, with half of them making the ultimate sacrifice.
As Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once said, “to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” In this spirit, OSCE participating States have committed, through multiple Ministerial Council Decisions, to promote Holocaust remembrance and education. Armenia has sought to contribute meaningfully to these efforts. A state-funded Holocaust memorial has been erected in the center of Yerevan. Holocaust studies are included in the school curricula, teacher training and academic research. Furthermore, Armenia has expressed its willingness to join the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, viewing membership as a meaningful step toward further strengthening international cooperation in the fields of Holocaust remembrance, education, and research.

Mr. Chairman,

The atrocities endured by humanity in the twentieth century led to the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also inspired the European Convention on Human Rights and other foundational documents that were called to protect societies from tyranny and oppression.

Yet, the promise of “never again” remains unfulfilled. The intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group persists, particularly amid the erosion of international security arrangements and human rights mechanisms.

In today’s volatile geopolitical environment, Holocaust Remembrance Day must also serve as a stark warning of how far humanity can descend, and of the horrors that can result from the lack of strong and effective international prevention mechanisms.

Armenia has been trying through its principled and sustained actions to contribute to international efforts on genocide prevention. Armenia is the penholder of the biannual “Genocide Prevention” resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council. Accordingly, this year we will once again present the resolution, reaffirming our sustained commitment to international prevention efforts. In 2015 upon our initiative the UN General Assembly proclaimed 9 December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. Last year, the UN GA adopted another resolution, initiated by Armenia, marking the 10th Anniversary of this International Day.

In 2008 Armenia was one of the initiators of the OSCE Ministerial Council Declaration on the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention. It recognized “that genocide is one of the most serious crimes under international law, which is condemned by international community as a whole and can never be justified.”

Thank you.

MFA RA
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