Panel discussion and reception organized by the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law and the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA.
This event is cosponsored by the
Armenian Students' Association at UCLA,
Jewish World Watch, the
UCLA Initiative to Study Hate, the
UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy, the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, and the
University Network for Human Rights.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM (Pacific Time)
UCLA Mong Learning Center (Engineering VI Building)
404 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Armenians have suffered discrimination and persecution at the hands of Azerbaijan—in Azerbaijan, Armenia and in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh—for decades. In December 2022, Azerbaijan began its restrictions and eventual full blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh within the borders of Azerbaijan to Armenia proper. As of this writing, for nearly 300 days, the population of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, 25% of whom are children, have been deprived of life-saving necessities such as food, medicines and fuel, resulting in starvation and death. More recently, even the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian aid organizations were prevented from accessing the population and, all the while, Azerbaijani officials have employed rhetoric normalizing hatred against ethnic Armenians while weaponizing starvation leading to death or forcible displacement from Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh.
Azerbaijan's aggression with respect to the Lachin Corridor over the past year is not isolated and points to a pattern and practice of ethnic cleansing that has gone unchecked for years. Indeed, on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military operation against the already-suffering people of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, with multiple deaths and dozens of injuries within the first 24 hours of the attack. This tragic situation became an overt initiation of wholesale, violent ethnic cleansing, and while ceasefire agreements may be in place, threats to the safety and security of the ethnic Armenians in this region continue.
Looking at the situation with respect to attacks against ethnic Armenians as a result of the Lachin Corridor blockade, and recent active military attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and in Armenia generally, this panel will explore the following key questions drawing from action taken thus far by States and international actors (or not):
- What conditions trigger the duty to prevent atrocities, including genocide?
- Once triggered, what is the scope of that duty, and what tools, both national and international, can help to identify these obligations as well as lawful steps for addressing a genocidal situation?
The above map indicates the Nagorno-Karabakh territory under Armenian and Russian peacekeeping control (per November 2020 ceasefire agreement). https://www.rferl.org/a/nagorno-karabakh-usaid-lifesaving-supplies-lachin-corridor/32529336.html.
Panel Discussion: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Reception: 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Moderator
Professor Hannah Garry
Executive Director, The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law
Panelists
Dr. Taner Akçam
Inaugural Director, The Armenian Genocide Research Program of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA
Professor Juan Méndez
American University; First UN Special Advisor on Prevention of Genocide
Sheila Paylan
International Law, Human Rights and Gender Expert; Director, Armenian Women's Bar Association Board of Directors
Professor Thomas Becker
Legal & Policy Director, University Network for Human Rights; Columbia Law School & Wesleyan University
This event will take place at the Mong Learning Center (Engineering VI Building)
Visitor parking available at UCLA Parking Structure 8.
- Park on the roof of Parking Structure 8
- Pay for parking at a Paystation
- Take the stairs or the elevator to Level 1/Westwood Plaza
- Cross the street diagonally, then turn slightly left, continuing north, past the bus stop
- Engineering VI will be on your right as you walk north on Westwood Plaza
Please note: This event will be photographed and recorded for documentation and distribution. All audience members agree to the possibility of appearing in these photographs and recordings by virtue of attending the event or participating in the event.