The fifth annual CFTJ conference on the rights of victims of mass crimes began in Yerevan

ArmInfo. The Center for Truth and Justice's (CFTJ) fifth annual conference, "Voices Against Forgetting: Victims of Mass Atrocities in an Age of Impunity," has opened in Yerevan.

As CFTJ told ArmInfo, the conference brought together representatives from 17 countries: survivors of mass atrocities, victim representatives, lawyers, psychologists, policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives. It is based on a simple principle: victims should not be left on the periphery of justice discussions.

According to the Center, over the course of two days, participants from Armenia, the United States, Nigeria, Kenya, Myanmar, Iraqi Kurdistan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Spain, Switzerland, Egypt, and Argentina will discuss two main themes: "Encountering Violence: Living with Its Consequences" and "Justice, Its Limits, and Contemporary Realities." The conference will conclude with an awards ceremony honoring those who have made significant contributions to ensuring victims' voices are heard in the process of achieving justice and building lasting peace.

In addition to the main themes of the conference, a digital exhibition, "Documenting the Truth, Preserving Memory," will be held in parallel with the conference. "Six screens present testimonies of victims and survivors of mass crimes, documented materials on mass atrocities, video documentaries, and visual materials collected by specialists from the Center for Truth and Justice," CFTJ reported.

Conference participants were also presented with Gurgen Petrosyan's book, "Law Without Illusions: Armenia's Past, Missed Opportunities, and the Real Potential of International Law." The book examines how Armenia can transform international law into an effective instrument of its foreign policy.

According to the source, the conference was organized by CFTJ in collaboration with the American University of Armenia (AUA). The center is a US-registered nonprofit organization founded in November 2020 following the war in Artsakh. CFTJ brings together lawyers who coordinate the collection of testimonies directly from war survivors through in-depth interviews.