Armenian Catholicos briefs foreign lawyers on genocidal actions  against Artsakh Armenians 

ArmInfo.  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II recalled the crimes committed against the Armenian people at the beginning of the 20th century - the Armenian Genocide, as well as the genocidal actions carried out by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Artsakh.

As reported by the press office of the Mother See of Etchmiadzin, the  Catholicos touched upon this mournful date at a meeting with  participants of the international conference organized by the Chamber  of Advocates of Armenia under the leadership of its chairman Simon  Babayan. One of the key goals of the visit was to get acquainted with  the mission of the Armenian Church in national and public life.

In this regard, Garegin II touched upon the key role of Holy  Etchmiadzin in the life of the Armenian people, noting that the  Christian faith has shaped national and spiritual values, as well as  the Armenian identity, for centuries. His Holiness also touched upon  the current security challenges facing Armenia.

In particular, the Catholicos stressed the need to protect the rights  of the Armenians of Artsakh, the return of prisoners and the  preservation of the spiritual and cultural heritage of the region,  emphasizing the importance of the mission of international human  rights structures in preventing and condemning crimes against  Armenians.

At the end of the meeting, Garegin II expressed gratitude to those  present for their efforts to protect the rights of peoples in the  international arena and for their desire to establish justice.

The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire was the first genocide of  the 20th century. Armenians remember the victims of the tragedy every  year on April 24. Turkey traditionally denies accusations of mass  extermination of more than 1.5 million Armenians. The fact of the  Armenian Genocide has been recognized by many states and a number of  authoritative international organizations. The first country to  recognize the Genocide in 1965 was Uruguay. Then this fact was  recognized by Cyprus, Russia, Greece, Canada, Lebanon, Belgium,  France, Paraguay, Argentina, Sweden, Bolivia, Great Britain, Holland,  Slovakia, Germany, Lithuania, Venezuela, Poland, Chile, Switzerland,  Brazil, Luxembourg, Austria, Vatican, Czech Republic, Denmark,  Portugal, as well as the provisional government of Libya, the USA,  Syria, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches.