ANC-EM to Present Inaugural Michael Varantian Lecture Series

Ambassador Mnatsakanyan to Give First Lecture on U.N. Resolution Introduced by the Republic of Armenia

His Excellency Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan

WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Eastern Massachusetts is pleased to announce the inaugural Michael Varantian Lecture Series. The first lecture will be presented by His Excellency Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, the permanent representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations (U.N.), on Thurs., Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries of the Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main St., Watertown.

Named after Michael Varantian, one of the luminaries and intellectuals of the Armenian independence and renaissance movement of the late-19^th century, the series will feature informative talks and panel discussions to help inform, discuss, and articulate current geopolitical events in Armenia and its neighboring region. In light of the ever-changing developments in the political landscape of the region, and cognizant of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the rebirth of the Republic of Armenia, better understanding of the dynamics of the dominant powers and shifting alignments of the interested parties will shed light onto and help formulate the participatory strategies of the Armenian nation, and its greatest resource, the Armenian Diaspora.By providing a platform of experts in the fields of political science, economics, and international law and diplomacy to share their knowledge and experience, the ANC strives to provide the community with a deeper understanding of current affairs and their overt and covert driving forces. It hopes that well-informed citizens will engage more effectively in the political discourse, and will affect positive change towards a better future for their adopted as well as ancestral homelands. This, it believes, is at the core of the democratic principles of the free society we live in, and which we collectively pledge to reinforce, nurture, and sustain in our 25-year-young republic.

Ambassador Mnatsakanyan will discuss the recent U.N. General Assembly resolution introduced by the Republic of Armenia to establish an International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime. This resolution, adopted on Sept. 11, 2015, follows up on another important resolution, initiated by Armenia and adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 27, 2015. In its operative paragraph 22, the U.N. Human Rights Council recommended to the U.N. General Assembly to proclaim such an International Day. This resolution adds to Armenia’s continued efforts to promote consolidated international action against the crime of genocide.Introducing the draft resolution on behalf of 84 co-sponsors from all regional groups, Mnatsakanyan noted that “millions of human lives have been lost as a result of the most horrendous crime—the crime of genocide—that humankind has, to its shame, demonstrated the ability to commit. We believe the International Day will serve an important platform for prevention by way of commemoration.”Dec. 9 was the date when the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted in 1948.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.

The main goals of the ANCA are to foster public awareness in support of a free, united, and independent Armenia; to influence and guide U.S. policy on matters of interest to the Armenian-American community; and to represent the collective Armenian-American viewpoint on matters of public policy, while serving as a liaison between the community and its elected officials.